True Love Never Dies
by pleasing-phoebe
Summary: After Steffi and Cole's dramatic split, this sequel is designed to answer all your questions about the couple's futures be they together or apart. New Chapters Coming Early '08
1. Moving On

Chapter 1 – So Now You're Back.

Cole stared at Steffi, mesmerised. She was 21 years old now, and God was she gorgeous. He could hardly believe this was the same little girl he had helped to walk around his back garden, and then had spent so many nights staring at as she slept. New York was certainly good for her, he thought.

"Mr Turner," Steffi said shakily. "I-I'm afraid that Mr Carter is out, but if you would care to wait here…"

"Steffi, you look… fantastic. How have you been?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know a Steffi. My name's Carmella Marcello, but I could get in touch with a record office if you would like to find this young woman."

"I know it's you," Cole said as he stepped into the office. "Who else could have picked themselves up like this? And I'm sure no other person has the same gorgeous hair as you." He smiled slightly as he saw her blush at the compliment. "Let me ask you something; why New York? You could've stayed in San Francisco, I wouldn't have bothered you there, I swear."

"I couldn't have stayed Cole… there was too much that reminded me of you, and that was too painful." Steffi stood up and stepped over to the floor to ceiling window of the office, staring down at the yellow cabs as they honked at each other.

"So you are Steffi, then?"

"Not to New York, I'm not. Not to my friends, my boss… New York has never heard of a Steffi Miller and I intend for it to stay that way. I went back to school, got myself a good job with great pay and a nice life. I'm not the girl who slept with men for money anymore, and I'm not your ex-girlfriend anymore either."

"You're still Steffi to me though," Cole said meaningfully. "You're still the girl I fell in love with, the girl who carried my baby, the girl who I can't live without."

"You seem to be doing alright to me," Steffi said, slightly sharply. "You've gone up in the world since I got rid of you. Maybe I should go back out with you, I could stake a claim on that bloody great fortune you're sitting on top of as the Bay's most successful lawyer!" Cole sighed heavily.

"Please don't be mad at me, baby," he said, going up to her and placing his hand on her arm. She didn't shrug it off. "I know you needed space, we both did after that argument. When I tried to find you, to apologise, you weren't at your place, and I couldn't get anything out any of your brothers, apart from two broken ribs and several nasty cuts, bruises, sprains and breakages. So I gave up looking for you, but I never gave up on you… on us." Steffi looked him in the eyes and smiled.

"I didn't think you would, even though you really should."

"I should, but I can't. You mean too much to me for that, you know that."

"You should know that I only buy the newspapers for the gossip columns," Steffi said dryly. "I know you got spotted going around with Phoebe again, and I also know that you were seen with several other celebrities, including Katie Couric. So don't tell me you never gave up on me. I know I'm no match for Phoebe, I accept that. So if that's all we have to say on the matter, then you should probably go." She made to go back to her desk, but Cole held onto her arm.

"They meant nothing, all those people. I was just doing it for the publicity, I swear."

"You swear a lot of things… you swore you loved me, you swore you were telling me the truth so many times… yet when it came to it, your promises were nothing more than lies." She tried to move again, but Cole's grip was too strong. "Cole, you're hurting me! Get off of me!" She pulled his hand off and fled to the safety of her desk, and picked up the phone. "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling security."

"You don't have to, and I know you don't want to. I have to be going anyway; I just wanted to see why you sounded so familiar." He walked out of the office, and then walked back in again, just to see her one last time. She had her face hidden in her hands, trying to pull herself together again, and he knew he couldn't leave her like that. "Steffi, I'm sorry. That was harsh of me…" She looked up at him with a small smile.

"I know you didn't mean to be, it's just the way you are. I went out with you for at least four months, I should hope I knew that much at least." She grinned at him, and he smiled back.

"Do I get a hug out of all this?" He opened his arms hopefully, and she stood up, leant over the desk and fell into his arms. Literally.

"Oh my God, if you drop me I will kill you! That's an expensive piece of equipment, that… thingagummy." Steffi giggled, and Cole opened his arms slightly, as if to drop her. She shrieked and he started laughing, moving his arms back together again so she was supported. They laughed together for a few minutes, comfortable in each other's company, when there was another knock on the door.

"Cammy? Who's this guy?" Steffi scrambled back at the sound of his voice and tried to smarten herself up.

"It's just an old friend, Phil, from San Francisco." Cole regarded Phil suspiciously.

"Who's Phil?" Steffi brushed some stray hairs out of her face with a manicured hand and sighed.

"Phil's… my fiancé." She showed Cole her left hand, and sat on her ring finger was the most beautiful ruby ring Cole had ever seen.

"Oh… I see," Cole said, trying to smile. "Well, congratulations, you've picked a winner." He extended his hand to Phil, expecting him to shake it, but was instead regarded with a cold eye.

"Who the hell are you and what were you doing to my girlfriend??" Phil demanded, and Cole took his hand away.

"My name's Cole Turner, I'm a lawyer from San Francisco… Steffi's an old friend of mine."

"Was this the guy you told me about on the phone? The one who scared you?" Phil looked at Steffi demandingly, and she looked at him defiantly.

"He's just a friend, Phil. A really good friend and I don't care if you don't like him, because he meant… he means a lot to me." Cole suppressed a smile at the remark, and Steffi moved over to Phil's side. "So play nice, you boys, because I'm going to introduce you both. Cole Turner, meet Phillip Gregory. Phil is a police officer for the state of New York, and Cole is a successful lawyer from San Francisco Bay. Now Cole came a long way to come and see me today, and I'd prefer it if you could find it in your hearts to be civil to one another."

"I'd be a lot more civil if he could explain why he had his hands all over you like that," muttered Phil. Steffi glared at him for a moment, and then softened.

"A long time ago, Cole and I were very close. We were going to have a child together, and there was a time we thought we might even get married. Unfortunately, circumstances changed and we lost the baby. I blamed Cole, and we decided it would be best if we went our separate ways. We have remained friends though, and that's why he came to see me today, because coincidentally I work for Tom and Cole is in the area to talk to him. Are you happy now? And what are you doing here anyway?"

"I know about Mr Turner's career, we've spoken on the phone before about a case. And actually, I came to see if you wanted to come to lunch with me, but then I saw my fiancée in the arms of some strange man, so you can see why I had my suspicions," Phil said, still looking at Cole distastefully.

"I would love to go to lunch with you, but I couldn't leave Cole alone in a strange city now could I?" Steffi smiled winningly at Phil, and he looked at her lovingly.

"Well, maybe we could do dinner instead… my shift doesn't start until seven…"

"Don't let me get in the way of your plans, guys," Cole said. "It's not the end of the world if I have to wait another day to see St- Carmella, but I'm leaving town on Thursday. I'll see you when I see you, then," he said, kissing Steffi on the cheek. "Nice to meet you, Phil," he said with a cordial smile, and then he headed towards the elevator.

Steffi glared at Phil. "Do you see what you've done? One of my oldest friends just had to leave because you were so rude to him that he felt he had to go!"

"I'm sorry that I took offence to a guy I'd never met in person clinging onto the love of my life!" The elevator pinged, and Steffi ran out into the hallway.

"Cole? Wait a minute…" Cole, who had just stepped inside the elevator, held the doors open.

"Going down?" he said with a smile.

"No thanks, I take the stairs," she replied, smiling back. "Listen, Phil's working tonight… come over and I'll cook you something. I think we need to talk." She conjured a slip of paper with her address on it. "Be there at eight o'clock, and I'll make sure I've got a lasagne on the go. I know it's your favourite." She gave him the paper then ran back into her office, and Cole could hear her saying,

"You know what? Let's go out now…"

_A/N and Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters._

_Ooh, so Cole managed to find her then. Even I wasn't expecting that one, because I have no space to pre-write any of my chapters. So, by my unfortunate lack of writing material, I wing it. Pretty good winging though, 1,672 words. Yay. Also, longest chapter yet. Perhaps I should wing it more often._


	2. It's Just Dinner

Chapter 2 – It's Just Dinner.

As the oven timer pinged, Steffi looked at the clock in her kitchen. It said quarter to eight, and she knew she wasn't dressed.

"Damn it!!" She ran into the bedroom, conjuring a nice outfit which didn't reveal too much, and showed that all the evening was going to be was dinner. It's just dinner, nothing more and nothing less. She changed quickly, relishing the feeling that using magic had upon her. She'd vowed to use it less, especially now that she had a mortal fiancé. Did have a mortal fiancé. Well, she had one at the moment, but maybe by the end of tonight she wouldn't. But then again, it's just dinner. No one will ask you to marry them if you're just having dinner, she thought to herself. She sat down at her dressing table and started on her make up, telling herself over and over again. It's just dinner. It's just dinner. It's just dinner…

"…It's just dinner," Cole muttered to himself as he did up his belt buckle. He stood back and looked at himself in the hotel mirror, hoping that this outfit portrayed his supposed intention to just have dinner. In actual fact, he wanted to see if Steffi still loved him as much as he loved her. He knew that he couldn't ask her outright, because she would attack him with a barrage of accusations about being seen with Phoebe. Admittedly, he had gone out with her once, and it was strictly business. Her column was being sued by some maniac who had interpreted her advice as a license to kill, and had murdered his girlfriend. He took her to dinner to check that he had all the facts right, and that he could expose certain facts about her if required. How was he to know that the paparazzi would be there too? And it certainly wasn't his fault if she had decided to kiss him on the cheek when he dropped her home that evening – her house, her rules. He looked at himself critically in the mirror, analysing his appearance. For a second he hesitated, and then decided to just leave it. Knowing Steffi, she would take him as he was, as she always had done and probably always would. But he was being presumptuous. After all, it's just dinner, he reasoned with himself.

The doorbell sang out at exactly three minutes past eight. Steffi, who had been pacing the large living room nervously, looked at the door and ran towards it. She spent two seconds checking herself over in the mirror which hung on the wall next to the door, and then opened it with a smile.

"Cole, you look great! Why didn't you have that suit when we were going out?" She leant against the door to allow him in and closed it neatly behind him.

"Well my waistline was bigger when I was with you, which is probably why," he said with a cheeky grin. "Must've been from all those times I'd take you out to dinner to try and get you to eat."

"I ate, and still do eat, perfectly fine thank you, I just have no appetite most days!" Steffi protested, and led him over to the sofa of her large studio apartment. She made sure he was comfortably seated before going out into the kitchen.

"Wow… you have a great place," Cole said, taking in the modern paintings on the walls with an appreciative eye. "I love the paintings, who did them?"

"A friend did," Steffi's voice floated out of the kitchen. "She's really great, a real Bohemian kinda girl. I should fix you up with her, you know." She came out, carrying two plates of salad as a starter and put them on the table. "She's nothing like me, so you guys should get on like a house on fire." Cole came up to the table and pulled Steffi's chair out for her, but she shook her head.

"Come on, sit down! I won't eat unless you're near me," said Cole persuasively, wrapping an arm round her waist and sitting her on his knee. She looked at him with a smile and gently got up again.

"I'll come and sit down once I've checked on the main course and I've corked the wine, okay?" She pottered off to the kitchen once more, and Cole immediately cursed himself for behaving like that. What if he'd put across the idea that he was hoping this would be more than just dinner? What if she'd got spooked and was in the kitchen at that very moment trying to think of a way to politely get rid of him? He sighed heavily, and heard the sound of a cork popping.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!" Steffi squeaked under her breath. Cole must still be into her; else he wouldn't have been like that with her. Maybe it wasn't just dinner; perhaps he wanted something else… The cork popped out of the neck of the bottle, and she quickly checked on the lasagne and her dessert – key lime pie. She had hoped that would be okay for him, and had spent the rest of her day in the office wracking her brains for his favourite meals. That was all she had come up with. She smoothed down her clothes, and went back into the room.

Cole was still sat at the table, toying with the salad. Steffi smiled and watched him for a few moments, before saying gently,

"You can eat that, you know. It's not going to kill you." Cole looked up at her and shrugged, slightly embarrassed.

"I was waiting for you, that's all. I'm not going to eat alone, I told you that." Steffi took her place and poured the wine out.

"Well, you can eat now. But first, a toast." She raised her glass in the air and thought for a moment. "To old friends and new beginnings."

"To old friends and new beginnings," Cole said with a smile and touched his glass with hers. They both drank, and Steffi made a face. "What's wrong?"

"This wine is horrible! Phil got it from work a while back, but the guy who gave it to him hates us anyway. I may just pour it down the sink, you know."

"It's not great, but I've had worse. Absinthe, for example."

"Oh, I hear you there!" Steffi laughed, and Cole had a sudden flashback to a date they'd had early in their relationship. He'd taken her to a restaurant near where she lived, and he kept seeing people he knew who would get suspicious, and so he had taken to hiding behind menus whenever he thought they were looking at him. Steffi had laughed at his behaviour, and told him that they could go home and get a take away. They'd skipped the restaurant without even paying the bill. He looked at her, and watched her eating. Eighteen months in New York had changed her, without a doubt, especially the way she ate and spoke. She had less of the restless energy which had so typified her erratic behaviour, and it had been replaced with a sophisticated elegance. Even though she was now in her early twenties, she was responsible and sensible, and it was such a change from her wild party days in the Bay, where she would dance with a new guy every night, never getting his name or his number, just leaving a lasting impression upon her not so unfortunate victim.

As they passed the meal with cheerful banter, about work and friends and other general topics, Steffi felt Cole's eyes upon her and they made her slightly uncomfortable. But only for a moment, and then she remembered her mantra for that evening – it's just dinner. She wasn't expecting any surprise questions, and so was caught off guard when Cole said, after a short pause,

"Do you still think about us sometimes? About what went wrong?"

"I…" Steffi paused, trying to work out what to say. Even she was surprised when she heard herself saying what she did. "I do. I came to the decision that it wasn't us; it was our circumstances, our positions at that time. If we had been different people, or if the people around us had been different, then I think we could've made a go of it. But, at the end of the day, its water under the bridge, and wishful thinking never got either of us anywhere now, did it?" Cole nodded silently, and ate the last bite of his pie.

"You know, this is good pie." Steffi burst out laughing, and Cole looked at her. He hadn't really realised what he'd said, but he laughed too and when it eventually died down, he smiled at her. She smiled back, and conjured a cigarette.

"I hope you don't mind if I…"

"Oh no, it's fine. Smoke like a chimney if it makes you happy." Because that's all I want, he thought.

"I had given up, until just now. Smoking and drinking, I indulged in no more," she said with a sardonic smile. "I guess you bring out the worst in me."

"It's certainly not intentional, but I think I liked you more when you were a rebel." Steffi exhaled a lungful of smoke, and watched it as it twisted and turned in the air.

"I think I did too," she said slowly. "But Phil's a health freak, so I had to give up smoking for definite. He told me to… I mean, I only chose to give up drinking because of how I acted when I drank. He said it made me act sluttish, and I have to admit I agree."

"Phil tells you to do a lot of things, doesn't he?" Cole said carefully. "The drinking, the smoking, when we first met in your office… he likes to control situations doesn't he?"

"He works a lot, and I think it takes him a little time to realise that he doesn't have to control me like I'm some kind of criminal. He doesn't do it to our flatmates, or to his parents. Must be because he's around me more."

"Flatmates?"

"Uh huh. What, you really think me and Phil could afford this place with our salaries combined? Not after buying food and clothes, paying the gas bill, the electricity bill, the water bill… it all adds up." Cole smiled slightly.

"When you lived in San Francisco you never worried about those kinds of things."

"When I lived in San Francisco, I had Charmz," she reminded him. "She paid for everything."

"I never knew you sponged off my teenage daughter! Who is, if you remember, a year younger than you."

"She had a job, I didn't. Not a real one anyway," Steffi said with a helpless shrug. "And plus she never said she wouldn't pay, not until she found out about… hmm."

"Oh come on, you earned a freaking fortune working the bars," said Cole with a smile. "You were a killer!! Guys actually queued just so they could have their time with you. Need I remind you how long your waiting list was at one point?"

"I thought you didn't know about all that," Steffi's cheeks turned a deep shade of pink. "You said before…"

"Well, when you left the city, I did a little research, to see if I could find you and apologise. All it got me was a beating from each of your brothers and a list of guys 20 feet long to talk to. It didn't take long to get through most of them."

"You tried to find me? But I was such a colossal waste of your time," Steffi said as she conjured a bottle of Jack Daniels and two glasses. "I'm still a waste of time, but now I have prettier clothes." She grinned and poured a little whiskey into the little shot glasses.

"You couldn't be a waste of my time if you tried, sweetie," Cole said honestly as he picked up his shot glass. "Now then – it's my turn to propose a toast. To just dinner!"

"To just dinner!" Steffi said, and they downed their shots.

_A/N and Disclaimer: I don't, I don't own 'Charmed'! We will, we will rock you!_

_Heehee. That's my mischievous laugh, in case you didn't know. Another thing you may not have known – I got me a new story! Yup, another forbidden love thingagummy about Phoebe (the bestest Charmed One, like duh) and Kyle (only guy I thought she would suit – she'd make Leo ditch his sexy plaid). 2,403 words which makes it longer than my French coursework – that may be because I haven't even started it yet, so I have a year's worth to do._


	3. Thank You, Jack

Chapter 3 – Thank You, Jack.

_Warning: Contains scenes of a sexual nature and strong language._

About two and a half bottles of whiskey later, Steffi and Cole were in drunken hysterics on her sofa. Cole was sliding off the sofa, and Steffi was laid across the length of it with her legs draped over Cole.

"Shhh," Steffi slurred between giggling fits. "The old hag from downstairs is in the hallway! She's the steward for this block of apartments, and she is soo mean!" Cole pulled a serious face, and Steffi relapsed into giggles. Cole put his hand over her mouth to try and quieten her down, and there was a knock on the door.

"Carmella? It's Mrs Munro… are you alright in there?" Cole released Steffi long enough for her to say, through her giggles;

"I'm fine, you evil old crone. But you're really just being a nosy bat aren't you?" Cole clamped his hand back over her mouth and grinned.

"Really! I would like to talk to Phillip please, Miss Marcello."

"Phillip's not here, Mrs Munro," Cole shouted, mimicking the lady's posh accent. "But I am, and I intend to take Miss Marcello far, far away to San Francisco!!" Steffi giggled, and then chimed in with a drunken chorus of 'Is This The Way To Amarillo?', changing the word Amarillo to San Francisco.

"Who is that man? Carmella, I insist you let me in here at once!" There was a jingling of keys, and a scrabbling at the lock. "If you don't let me in, I shall have to let myself in!!" Steffi looked at Cole with a panicked expression, and he slid off the sofa completely. When he resurfaced, he pulled her off with a thump, and held her down there.

"If she comes in, all she's going to see is an empty room! And if she investigates… well I'm sure we can put her off," Cole whispered with a grin. Steffi grinned back and kept quiet as Mrs Munro opened the door.

There was a shuffling of slippers as Jackie Munro made her way into the studio apartment. Miss Marcello and her companion must've had a meal together, for there was the remainders of a key lime pie on the table, with two candles burnt down to the bottom, and there were two finished bottles of Jack Daniels next to the candlesticks. Jackie shook her head gleefully at the prospect of gossip; Mr Gregory probably wouldn't know about this male visitor, and if he found out… boy, would he be mad. There was a sound, like tittering, and the old woman swung around quickly to see who it was. She couldn't see anyone, but she thought she could see a length of blonde curly hair next to the sofa. She made her way over, and gasped when she saw a man of about thirty, who was on top of, and clearly having his way with, Miss Marcello. The man looked up at her and grinned.

"Don't mind us, Mrs Munro. I'm just, uh, dislodging some pie from Carmella's throat." Steffi choked compliantly, and Cole pressed down on her chest. "Cough it up now, there's a love."

"Do you need an ambulance?" Jackie said, hoping to find out more about their evening. "I could ring emergency services for you…"

"No thank you, Mrs Munro. I am in fact a doctor, and I'm perfectly capable of dislodging this piece of pie." A sound was emitted from Steffi's mouth not unlike a giggle, and Jackie looked at her sharply. But Steffi was a clever enough actress to turn her laugh into a cough, and Jackie turned on her heel and walked out.

"Did we ever piss her off?!" Steffi was shrieking with laughter as soon as she heard the elevator ping from outside. "I don't think I've ever seen that old busy-body so anxious to help!" Cole, who hadn't moved off Steffi since the old steward had come over, smiled down at Steffi. She leant on her elbows and looked at him for a long time, just looking. Taking in every inch of his features, which were still so familiar to her. Gently, she stroked his cheek with her hand, and slowly brought her hand down to his lips. She left her fingers there and gazed into his eyes once more. He kissed her fingertips softly, before grabbing her arm and kissing the length of it, from fingertip to shoulder, supporting her with his other hand. Steffi closed her eyes and let her head fall back, relaxing completely into him. Cole kissed along her collar bone and up to her neck, then her face, avoiding her lips completely. She wrapped both arms around his neck, and he picked her up, carrying her into one of the three bedrooms of the flat.

"Not this one," Steffi whispered huskily. "This is Katy's room." Cole moved to the next one, and Steffi shook her head. "The next one's mine. This is Marcus's." When they finally reached Steffi's room, Cole dropped her onto the bed and started taking his shirt off.

"When does everyone get home?" Steffi got up on her knees and helped him unbutton it, murmuring;

"Marcus is working the late shift at the restaurant, so he won't be back tonight. He'll stay at his girlfriend's house and he probably won't be back till seven. Katy is with her parents for the week, and Phil finishes at seven. With New York traffic and his beaten up old car, he won't be back until half eight." She slid one of the straps on her dress off her shoulder slowly, and Cole got onto the bed and ran a hand up her thigh. Steffi reached out to her bedside lamp and pulled the cord, and the room was enveloped in darkness.

"Was this just a one-time thing?" Cole asked an hour or so later, as he stroked Steffi's arm gently. She laughed quietly.

"Can we ever be a one-time thing? Because we asked ourselves the same thing last time, and look how that turned out."

"I guess so, but it's different this time. I mean… I'm in love with you."

"I know."

"And all evening, all I've wanted to ask you is if you still love me, and if you could ever take me back."

"I know."

"Look, about those pictures of me in the paper. It was just business, especially with Phoebe. Her column was being sued and so Elise hired me as her attorney. I did take her out, but only as a business thing."

"I know."

"And Katie Couric? For a comic, she can be so boring! I mean…" Steffi placed a finger to his lips, cutting him off, and nodded.

"I know. You don't have to explain yourself to me, Cole. It's just me – it's Steffi. Your Steffi. Now say thank you."

"To who?"

"Jack, of course."

"Jack who?"

"Jack Daniels. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be lying here with you, telling you I love you and I never want to be without you again."

"Thank you very, very much, Jack."

_A/N and Disclaimer: 'Charmed' is obviously nothing to do with me, cos I'm a 16 year old kid from Essex. I'm supposed to be a bleached blonde chavette with a really bad dress sense. Well, I'm a third of the way there then._

_Hope you enjoyed that! I just thought they needed a little bit of fun before they end up getting split up again._


	4. Secret's Safe With Me

Chapter 4 – Secret's Safe With Me.

Cole had dozed off, and had not been woken by Steffi's half six alarm. As long as he was out of the house by quarter past eight at the latest, then she would not disturb him. Doing her make up at her desk, she allowed herself a brighter shade of lipstick, a little more blusher… little things which gave her more of a general glow. When she dressed, she picked a tighter skirt and a more revealing blouse than usual, although she noticed none of this. She was just happy that Cole still loved her. After putting her earrings in, she crept over to the bed and shook Cole gently.

"Time to wake up, baby," she whispered in his ear. He groaned and she nibbled his ear gently. "If you don't get up, you're going to have one very unhappy Officer Gregory after you… he won't believe me if I say I came onto you. He thinks I'm so sweet and innocent, bless him." Cole opened his eyes, and for a moment was about to close them again. Then, he saw Steffi's face.

"Seeing you gives me a reason to get up this morning," he said with a small smile. He tried to sit up, and put a hand to his head. "Okay, how much did you let me drink last night?"

"Well, two and a half bottles of Jack Daniels, plus a very nasty Italian wine. I think you have every right to be feeling a little delicate." She grinned, and left the room to go and get some coffee for him. As she left, Cole checked her out discreetly, and muttered to himself,

"I hate to see her go, but I love to watch her leave."

As Steffi took the coffee into her bedroom, a key turned in the lock, and a head of tousled brown hair appeared through it.

"Cam? You up yet?" The head whispered loudly. Steffi rolled her eyes and stuck her head round her bedroom door.

"Up, dressed and getting breakfast. You're back early; things still not going great with Chelsea?"

"Great girl, great sense of humour, great body, big bad jealousy problem. She's accusing me of sleeping with you, as well as half of Manhattan, now," said the head, and he came through the door with a deep sigh. Still in his work clothes, Marcus looked thoroughly exhausted. He was a scrawny boy, about the same age as Steffi, and handsome in a crooked kind of way. "Can I smell cigarette smoke? Cos it's not the brand I smoke if I can smell it." Steffi bit her lip nervously and looked down for a second.

"If you tell Phil, I swear to God I will castrate you with my bare hands," she warned when she looked up again. Marcus's hands moved to his crotch and he swallowed hard. "I had a friend over last night, and we discovered that old habits die hard."

"She doesn't have a friend, does she? One exactly like Chelsea without the whole 'I have major jealousy issues' thing?"

"Who says it's a she?" Steffi said mysteriously, and she disappeared into the bedroom to give Cole his coffee.

"Girl, you are so bad!" Marcus said, starting to laugh. "You know Phil's gonna flip out so bad when he finds out." He stopped laughing as soon as he saw Cole, half-dressed, coming out of the room.

"Who's going to tell him, Marcus?"

"Not me, that's for damn sure sir!" Marcus straightened up, and Steffi laughed as she came out of the room again.

"Marcus sweetie, don't be scared of Cole! He couldn't hurt a fly, let alone a big strong boy like you!" She went across to him and squeezed his upper arms jokingly, giving him a sultry wink as she walked back into the kitchen. Marcus shuddered slightly and looked at Cole.

"Dude – where did you get her and how can I find one?"

"Well I'm afraid that would be telling," smiled Cole, extending his hand to Marcus. "Cole Turner."

"Marcus Kerrigan… hey, aren't you a lawyer? You deal with all those big cases, like that one with Phoebe Halliwell. What's she like? Is she cuter in person than she is in the papers?" Marcus said as he shook Cole's hand eagerly. Cole grinned at Marcus and said to Steffi,

"Would your other be flatmate this relaxed about finding you in bed with a guy who isn't your fiancé?"

"I don't really care if Katy doesn't like you. Hell, I don't care if Phil doesn't like you," Steffi said as she came back into the living room with a plate of toasted bagels. She put them down on the table and walked over to him, wrapping her arms round his waist. "I don't care what anyone thinks anymore. All I care about is you." She went up on tip toes to kiss him, but without high heels on she couldn't reach his lips. "Cole… give me a boost?" He smiled and obliged, and she gave him a quick kiss on the lips before kicking her feet about a bit.

"You wanna go down now?" She nodded, and he placed her back on the ground. Marcus was smiling in admiration.

"You guys are so sweet together," he said. "When Cam's around Phil she's never like this. And between you and me," he lowered his tone conspiratorially, "their sex life sucks. I'm in the bedroom next to them and it's never sounded like they have all that much fun. It's just Cam saying, 'it's okay, all guys do that sometimes.' It's weird, y'know?" Steffi hit Marcus on the arm playfully.

"You listen to us?"

"The bed is squeaky, it wakes a guy up!" He grinned and shrugged helplessly. "But I'm not gonna tell Phil, I promise. You guys are obviously into each other, and what kind of pal would I be if I ratted on you to her fiancé? Secret's safe with me, Cam." With that, Marcus went into his room and shut the door.

After Marcus had changed, the three had breakfast together. Cole and Steffi took turns to explain their relationship, and Marcus was shocked to discover Steffi's true identity.

"My mom knew you guys!" He exclaimed. "You had the place next to my parents' country home thing. They're so damn rich, but say one wrong thing or do one wrong person and you're cut out of the family! Hence why I live here with the first girl who ever knocked me back." He was also amazed to hear about Charmz's involvement in the death of the baby. "So, you guys have like, magic powers? That's pretty cool… I mean, now I know how Cam can have so many clothes without being as poor as me!" Steffi grinned.

"You don't have to call me Carmella anymore, Marcus. Just call me Steffi, I don't mind."

"Nah, I'm cool with your other name. But look, it's like twenty past eight. Isn't Phil gonna be back anytime soon?" Cole stood up, and kissed Steffi on the cheek.

"I'll see you later, baby." He went to fade out, but Steffi caught his arm.

"Can't you walk me to work? I don't want to say goodbye just yet." Cole smiled and took her arm.

"Of course I'll walk you honey. Hey Marcus, ring me sometime. I think I know someone you might like to meet when you break up with Chelsea; she's called Phoebe." He grinned and gave his card to Marcus who stared at it in awe. Then, he walked Steffi to the apartment door and they made their way to the offices of Carter, Campbell and Warren.


	5. Falling For You All Over Again

Chapter 5 – Falling For You All Over Again.

If you had been walking along Fifth Avenue that morning, you might have seen a young couple walking towards Times Square. The woman would have been about five foot six, with long blonde curls and a flirtatious manner. The gentleman would be just over six feet with dark hair and his arm round the woman. If you'd heard them chattering, then you would hear one of them laughing away at something the other had said, and every now and then a sweet nothing, meant only for each other. You would know they were in love.

"…Are you sure you won't come up with me?" Steffi pleaded with Cole as they stood at the bottom of the flight of marble stairs leading to Thomas Carter's office. "I could tell him you'd made an appointment that I hadn't told him about or something…" She was holding Cole's hands and standing close into him. Cole shook his head.

"I'm here for another few days; I think I could delay my appointment."

"I don't want you to go," Steffi said, and she made a face. "I'm falling for you all over again, and I don't think I can let you go anymore." Cole tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes.

"Okay, I will come up. But only because I can't stand to see you disappointed," he said with a smile. "And also, we need to work out what time to meet for lunch."

"Lunch?"

"I can't go twenty seconds without you before I miss you – what kind of effect do you think hours are going to have on me?"

"Good point… okay; well let's go up by the elevator today."

"Why?"

"Cos I have a plan." She grinned flirtatiously, and Cole followed her into the elevator. He didn't notice when she conjured an 'Out of Order' sign, and he was looking the opposite way when she stuck it on the doors.

Two minutes later, the doors opened and Steffi and Cole sprang apart from their steamy embrace. Steffi walked out the elevator and smoothed her clothes down, and Cole loitered in the hall for a few minutes, adjusting his tie and doing his shirt's top button up again. Steffi sat on her chair and buzzed through to Thomas Carter's private office.

"Tom? Yes, sorry I'm late; I think my alarm is broken. Appointments for today?"

"Yes please, Carmella," Tom's voice came through the intercom, as clear as if he was standing next to you. "And don't worry about being late today, it's only the second time since you've been here, and the first time was because that nice Mr Gregory proposed to you during breakfast."

"That's one major memory you have there, Tom. Now then, you have an appointment with a Mr Cole Turner now, and then you're clear through to half past four, when you have a business dinner with Mrs Van der Kampen."

"Ah yes, dinner with Claudia. Don't worry about pretending you don't know about us, Carmella, because as long as the wife doesn't find out then I don't care who knows."

"Very good, sir. Mr Turner will be waiting for you in the foyer, but unfortunately he is not quite used to New York traffic and has been delayed. He says he's about five minutes away." Cole came into the office and went over to Steffi's desk.

"Turner? He's a good man, believe you me. If you hadn't got your Mr Gregory, I might have recommended that you and Cole met up some time." Steffi looked at Cole, and stood up.

"Yes sir… will you excuse me now Tom, I have some typing to catch up on." She flicked the intercom off before he could answer and gave Cole another passionate kiss. Cole sat her on the edge of the desk and let her run her hands through his hair, not caring if he looked like he'd been dragged through a bush backwards when he saw Tom. He was about to sweep the items off Steffi's desk when the smashing of a glass made him spring away from her. He looked at the open doorway to Carter's office, and saw Thomas Henry Carter himself standing in the middle of it, looking red with rage. Steffi had also seen him, and was desperately trying to bring herself back to her usual neat self. Then, Tom's face broke into a smile.

"I take it you and Mr Turner are already well acquainted then, Cam?"

"We know each other a little bit, don't we?" Cole grinned at Tom. "Hello there, Tom. What's all this I hear about you and Mrs Van der Kampen?"

"I don't know, it depends what I'm hearing about you and my Cammy," Tom said, his big round face split in two by his smile. He went over to Cole and shook his hand warmly. "So, killed any witches lately? Or are you still in that peaceful phase?" Tom looked at Steffi, and his smile grew when he saw her confused face.

"Tom… are you joking? Or are you a demon?"

"My dear, of course I'm a demon. And I also know that your name isn't Carmella at all. It's Stephanie Miller. I think I probably know more than you give me credit for, in fact." Cole grinned at Tom.

"You really are quite sly, Mr Carter. What else do you know about Steffi?"

"Well, her history with you came up a few times in my research, I know who her parents are, and her brothers… pretty much everything. But, of course, the first thing I had to find out was whether she was demonic or not. I can't have mortals in my personal staff, not if they want to live anyway. Steffi came to work for me as soon as she came to the city – in fact, I'm the one who set her up for the course in secretarial work, and I'm also the one who ensured that she passed."

"Wait – does that mean you changed my mark in my finals or something?" Steffi said, after regaining her composure and her tongue.

"No, no, no, of course not. I just made sure you studied and really applied yourself – I wanted you to get this job with me, I wanted you to make something of yourself. It makes me happy to see you like this."

"What, with my legs wrapped around Cole?"

"No, with your job and your qualification. You and Cole is just an added bonus for me, I always thought you two were good together." Steffi blushed, and Cole went over to stand by her proudly. "Now then, boys and girls, can I get on with my business meeting without you two leaping on each other like wild beasts?"


	6. Lost

Chapter 26 – Lost.

That afternoon, as Steffi and Cole walked back to her building after lunch, Cole wordlessly stopped her in the middle of the street. Steffi laughed nervously.

"You can't just stop in the middle of New York, baby. It's a busy city! Come into Starbucks." She pulled him into the coffee house and ordered two cappuccinos. Cole went up and got them, before coming back to his seat.

"Okay, stopping you there was pretty dumb, I'll admit," he said with a grin. "But there's something I want to ask you."

"Oh yeah? Go for it sweetie," Steffi said as she sipped her coffee. "I haven't got long, but Tom will understand. After all, you leave in two days."

"That's what I wanted to talk about."

"Look, if you want to stay here I won't let you. People like you belong in San Francisco, not New York."

"Well then, come with me." Steffi put her coffee cup down with trembling hands.

"I-I can't leave… Phil…"

"Phil works idiotic hours, orders you around and doesn't love you as much as I do. You're the one who's been sneaking around behind his back to be with me, aren't you?"

"Don't guilt trip me, Cole, please. I just want to get back to work now, if you don't mind." She stood up, ready to go and stroked Cole's cheek. He looked up at her, his dark eyes filled with sadness, and Steffi realised how much he wanted this. "Look, I'll talk to you about it tonight okay? I just need a little time to think about all this…" She bent down and kissed the top of his head gently. "I love you."

"Then come back to San Francisco! We can be together there, we could make it work!"

"I know you think we could, and I want to believe you, but Charmz is in San Francisco. And where there's a Charmz, there's no way."

"She's in LA now – there's no one to stop us anymore! Please, Steffi," Cole bent down on one knee and took her hand. "Just come back with me. Let us be together… or at least try." Steffi's cheeks started to go pink.

"Cole, people are staring. I don't like people staring at me in Starbucks… can't we do this somewhere else?" She heard someone in the crowd say, 'Oh just go with him!' and began to wonder whether she should. A police siren cut through her thoughts, and she looked outside.

Phil was racing down Fifth Avenue, in hot pursuit of a jewel thief in a hijacked car. The suspect stopped his car near the Rockefeller Plaza, and began to run towards the centre. Phil swerved the car over and leapt out, running after the criminal. He was pretty easy to spot, and as they rounded a corner Phil was aware of gathering crowds of people. Outside a Starbucks, he lost the suspect and radioed for back up to find him. He nodded modestly as the people cheered and clapped, then stopped dead when he saw two people inside the Starbucks he knew. They were locked in a tight embrace, and the girl looked as if she was crying. He definitely knew those people – that was his fiancée and her supposed 'friend' Cole Turner.

"I didn't mean to make you cry… come on baby, cheer up for me," Cole said as he rocked Steffi slowly.

"Oh God… I just feel so awful," she sobbed. "After all Phil's done for me, I can't just up and leave him, can I?" Cole pulled back and looked at her a moment, before gently kissing her tears away.

"That was a bit of a tall order, wasn't it? Look, forget I said anything. You don't have to come with me…"

"And she damn well isn't going to!" Phil said from the entrance of the café.

"Phil? It's not what it looks like…" Steffi said, desperately trying to wipe away her tears.

"I know, Cammy. It's this guy here who has the problem!" Phil narrowed his eyes at Cole and before Cole could move, he ran at him and took him out, leaving him sprawled over a coffee table. Cole got up slowly, and punched Phil in the mouth. There was a small tinkling sound as two of his teeth came out.

"Stop it!! Cole, if you love me you'll leave him alone!" Steffi screamed, and ran over to Phil, who had fallen to the floor unconscious. She propped his head up carefully, and smoothed down his hair, gently kissing his forehead.

"Steffi… you don't love him! You don't, you told me so…"

"It's none of your business whether I love him or not, Cole," Steffi said quietly, smiling at Phil who had regained consciousness. "You okay, baby?"

"Did you sleep with him?"

"I-what?"

"Don't lie to me Carmella, for the love of God don't lie to me. Did you sleep with him?"

"Look, Phil, I-"

"That's a yes then, is it?"

"Maybe it is," Cole said aggressively. "And so what if we did sleep together? It just means she loves me more than she loves you, doesn't it?"

"Shut up Cole!" Steffi's voice was razor sharp. "Phil, I would never hurt you… tell me you know that."

"I know you wouldn't… but I also know that you did," Steffi looked down, and Phil tilted her chin to look at him. "And I love you so much that I'm willing to forgive you if you just answer my last question – why did he call you Steffi?"

"It was a pet name he had for me a long time ago… that's all."

_A/N and Disclaimer: Me no own 'Charmed' :(_

_938 words… I only hope the word count makes up for the bloody awful title. I really am so, so sorry about it. All together now; 'IT'S SHIT!!!'_


	7. Goodbye To You

Chapter 7 – Goodbye To You.

Two days later, Steffi was sat typing at her desk. She sighed as she saw the next letter she was due to write – a thank you to Mr Cole Turner. She pressed the button on her intercom and said to Tom,

"There's a letter here that I would prefer not to write. Could you do this one yourself?"

"That depends – who's it to?"

"Cole."

"In that case, keep writing. You never know, it might help."

"I don't need help," Steffi said irritably. "I just need people to stop reminding me of that moron!"

"Now, now, Miss Miller," Tom said, appearing in the doorway. "I think we both know you don't think he's a moron. You love him, don't you?"

"No I don't! He's arrogant, cheeky, presumptuous, idiotic, simple… he's no good for me. I need Phil, not Cole."

"Steffi," Tom said with a sigh. "Come into my office." She obliged, and when she had sat down opposite him at his desk, he steepled his fingers and looked at her.

"I know it's hard for you, especially after all that time you spent trying to forget him. But I want you to talk to me about how you feel, and I promise it won't go outside these four walls."

"He's nothing to me anymore. I hate him! He had no right to give Phil such a beating, and I'll be damned if I let him stay in my life after that! Besides, you're wrong. I don't love him anymore; I found that out after I slept with him again. I find him vulgar and unattractive, and… and… and completely and utterly adorable." She put her face in her hands and sighed. Tom put a hand on her arm comfortingly, and said quietly,

"You don't have to be so strong, you know. He broke your heart, and it's allowed to hurt. So take it out on him, scream and curse and fight with him. Just promise me that when the time comes you will do the right thing; by him and by you."

"Thanks, Tom," Steffi said after a long pause. "But without Cole, I haven't got the strength to get through the day. Everything I used to love doing seems a little less exciting, and life just loses its general wonder. Without Cole, I almost don't have a life. I have a shell of a life, with shells of people around me."

"Steffi," Tom said, and he took her hands. "Go and see Cole, and tell him how you feel. Vent all your anger, all your sadness, and tell him that you love him. If you go now, you might catch him before he boards his plane."

"His plane?"

"Yes; have you forgotten? He leaves for San Francisco today." Steffi stood up so fast her chair almost toppled over.

"Shit! How could I forget?" She shimmered out quickly, and into his hotel room.

Cole was just locking the door when he thought he saw a flicker in the bathroom mirror. He shook his head, and thought he must be imagining things, when he heard a familiar voice calling to him.

"Cole? Cole? Oh God, Cole, please be here! I need you…" Cole shook his head again, remembering the previous two evenings when he had awoken, thinking he could hear Steffi calling to him only to find that the windows had blown open in the wind. He went to lock the door once more, and then froze when he saw Steffi walk out of his bathroom and into the bedroom cum living room. She sat on the edge of the bed and began to cry softly, and Cole's heart melted.

"Steffi? Is that you?" He opened the door, and she looked up.

"Cole…" She rushed over to him, throwing her arms round him and kissing his face and neck. He held her tightly; stroking her hair and inhaling her scent for what he imagined would be the last time.

"You came to say goodbye, I take it?"

"N-no… I came to tell you that I love you, and that Phil really is a terrible mistake on my part."

"Steffi, that's not funny. I love you, and you treat it like its some kind of joke! Well I'm sorry, but I can't be that way when we're talking about my feelings…" He released her and she looked up at him with imploring eyes.

"I really am sorry, Cole. Please believe me when I say this, because up until twenty minutes ago you never would've heard me saying these things. I love you more than I love life itself, and I know you may find this hard to believe what with recent circumstances. I look at Phil and I see stability, kindness, a man who's predictable, comfortable with the way people see him, and not happy within himself for what he is. I look at you and I see unpredictability, a man who isn't afraid to be himself, and so much love it makes my heart ache to think that I lost you. Please, Cole, if you don't believe me, believe what I feel and what I pray you still feel for me."

Cole stood speechless, staring at her with glassy eyes. Steffi tried to hold his gaze, but could not, and turned her face away. After what seemed to be a long time, she spoke.

"Well, I guess I should be going back to the office. I've got work to do, and the longer I leave it the later I leave the office. Goodbye, Cole." With that, she shimmered out.

_A/N and Disclaimer: (must be sung to tune of Phantom of the Opera): I, I do not own 'Charmed', nor do I own Cole, but Tom and Steffi are, they are both all mine…_

_Goodbye to you… aww I love Michelle Branch, me. And Sarah McLachlan. Most chapter titles are either lyrics or song titles by her or other reputable artists. But see if you can spot the ones that aren't when this story ends, and PM me your answer. If it's right, then you shall have a sweetie. Or something like that. 932 words, by the way._


	8. My Happy Ending

Chapter 8 – My Happy Ending.

_Three months later._

The Hawaiian sun beat down upon Steffi's shoulders, her silky skin turning a gorgeous nut brown colour as she sunbathed on the white sandy beach. Her brown eyes were closed behind fashionably large aviator sunglasses as she dozed, resting her head against the back of a tall, muscular man. Her eyes flickered open and she looked up at the sunlight.

"Baby? Would you put more lotion on my back before I burn?" The guy turned round, and obliged.

"You know Cammy, I really thought Cole would be the end of us," Phil said as he gently massaged the lotion into her back. "But I guess we're stronger than that, hmm?"

"I guess so… I mean, look at us now, almost on our honeymoon! After tomorrow we will be, because I seem to remember there's a clause where you have to be married to have a honeymoon." She looked over the top of the shades and smiled at him. Phil grinned and, catching her round the waist, kissed her teasingly.

"You are so sexy in your little bikini… maybe we should see if you look sexier without it…" Steffi kissed back, and said nothing. When Phil's hand moved down onto her waist she pulled back.

"You do realise there are laws against having sex on beaches, Officer," she said with her eyebrow raised. "I would hate to disgrace you in such a way."

"Yeah, but then people would look at you and think, 'oh, so that's why he did it'. And I'll be like yep, she's my beautiful wife."

"That's a point – I thought the groom wasn't allowed to see the bride before the wedding. It's tradition."

"Sod tradition, you're too pretty." He nuzzled her neck and she looked up into the sun for a moment.

"I'm gonna get a big head if you carry on like that, sweetie. And we'd better make the best of this sun, because we've got a plane to catch in three hours." She cuddled into him, and just for a moment forgot he was Phillip Gregory – he was Cole Turner instead.

The real Cole Turner was working hard in his San Francisco office, sweat dripping from his forehead. His shirt was unbuttoned almost down to the middle of his chest, his tie abandoned in some far away drawer.

"What a day for the air con to break down," he grumbled as he stared at the ceiling for a moment, and he wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. Looking back at the documents he had been studying, he tried to make sense of them, but the letters danced around the page so he could not read them. Tiredly, he waved his hand over them and the necessary work was done. Sometimes, he thanked God for magic. As he let his mind wander away from work, it wandered to a topic he would normally have refused to spend any time on – his second break up with Steffi. He wondered what had become of her, that beautiful sensuous girl he had been stupid enough to leave behind not once, but twice. Suddenly, he stood up and told his secretary to tell anyone who asked after him that he was away for an indefinite period of time. Without any further ado, he faded to Tom Carter's office.

"Steffi?" Cole rushed into the office, and then opened Tom Carter's door. The man himself was in there, trying to do up a bow tie and practicing a speech for something or another. "Oh Tom! Do you know where Steffi is? I need to talk to her…"

"Cole! Welcome back to New York! What do you mean, where's Steffi? Didn't she invite you?"

"Invite me where, Tom?"

"Well, her wedding. She's getting married tomorrow."

"You're joking!"

"Afraid not. I'm giving her away," said Tom, beaming. "I even get to do a speech saying how great she is, and how she and Phil make a great couple. There's even going to be celebs, at my personal invitation. It's a real traditional church wedding you know… would you like me to get you an invite?"

"I don't need an invite. Since when have wedding crashers needed invites anyway?" Cole said with a smile.

"Oh, Cole. Is that really such a good idea? If you want her back, try not to run her special day, especially not in front of people like Stella McCartney and J-Lo. It's a Donna Karan wedding dress you know…"

"Tom, I don't care whether it's a bin bag dress from 'Zoolander'. I can't let her marry him, it's not right." Tom clicked his tongue for a minute or two, and then looked at Cole.

"Just don't break her heart again, Cole."

"I don't want to, Tom. I just want her; I need her to be complete."

"Alright then. Here's the plan…"

_A/N and Disclaimer: 'Charmed' + Me No Copyright or Ownership Clause, god dang it._

_809 words, yay. Well, we all knew I rock, but who knew I rock this much? I even managed to involve one of the world's greatest films: 'Zoolander'. If you haven't seen it, rent it damn you! Else you won't get the whole dress thing. And if you have seen it: kudos! And if you review, please tell me what you thought of that bit with the petrol station – was it wrong that I was in stitches when they burnt up?_


	9. The One Where There's A Wedding

Chapter 9 – The One Where Three's A Crowd.

Part I of II.

"I'm getting married in the morning…" Steffi sang happily as she got out of bed the next morning. She made her way over to the open window and stuck her head out. Then she ran and had a shower, trying to cram everything in before the bridesmaids and the hairdresser came. At nine o'clock, when everyone was due to arrive, Steffi was still drying her thick locks. Suddenly, her bridesmaids came running in shrieking their congratulations, and Steffi was inundated with people trying to hug the bride. The only person who stood back away from the crowd was Steffi's maid of honour, her best friend Danielle. They had been friends since childhood, but then Steffi moved away and Danielle had been taken away by a demon, Barbas, and used as a slave. Only recently had she been released from captivity, and crowds still made her nervous. She smiled at Steffi over the throng, and Steffi grinned back.

"Dan! I haven't seen you since… forever!!" She ran over to Danielle and gave her the biggest bear hug humanly possible. Danielle shied away at first, but then relaxed and hugged her friend back.

"St-Cammy! It has been a long time, hasn't it?"

"Oh God, yeah! I was beginning to think… well, let's not go there. Okay everyone," she addressed the bridesmaids. "This is Danielle, my head bridesmaid lady. Everyone must listen to her, because she's the boss and I don't know where I would be without her. Dan, this is Katy my flatmate, that's Kirsten…"

Cole straightened out his tuxedo and tie carefully. He wanted to look his best for Steffi's wedding, even if he was going to effectively ruin it. He ran over the plan he and Tom had made in his head one more time. Nothing would go wrong, as long as he remembered the plan. Then, taking a deep breath, he glamoured into Marcus, Steffi's flatmate and her closest male friend. Good thing he was only an usher, and not the best man.

"Okay, the wedding's at half eleven, and it's now ten o'clock," Steffi said as Donna Karan herself began to do her hair. "So here's my little checklist. Cake?"

"Check! It's in the hotel foyer. Its soo totally gorgeous Carmella, wherever did you find the caterer?" Katy, a pretty Oriental girl and Steffi's flatmate, chirruped.

"It's a secret, Kat. Okay so cake; check. Dress?"

"Check," said Ms Karan. "It's hanging up on the side of your wardrobe. You know, I'm so glad Tom introduced us – have you ever considered modelling?" Steffi giggled and looked at her dress in the mirror. It was a beautiful silk sheath dress, with a tight bodice and a long, full, free-flowing skirt with a train. Her veil was attached to a beautiful diamond and silver tiara; a gift from Tom Carter.

"Cake and dress are checked. Bridesmaids dresses?" Steffi looked at Danielle out of the corner of her eye. She nodded and said,

"Check. They're on the bed. In fact, girls, go and get ready now, and then you can get your hair and make up done sooner." The bridesmaids trotted off to change, chattering away about their own weddings and what they would be like, and so it was just Steffi, Donna Karan and Danielle.

"Carmella, your hair is so beautiful! I wish I had left mine long…" Donna sighed.

"Well it's also a lot of freakin' hard work, so don't be so quick to envy me!" Steffi said with a grin.

An hour later, Steffi stood in front of the mirror in her room, fully dressed and made up. She looked beautiful, her hair up and adorned with silver clips and little pink flowers which matched those in her bouquet, which comprised of the little pink flowers and brilliant white roses. But something didn't feel quite right somehow. Steffi frowned slightly, and thought fleetingly that she shouldn't frown too long in case the make up shifted. Then, she realised what was wrong – she was marrying the wrong man.

Cole, in his usual appearance instead of his disguise as Marcus, looked around the empty church. It was decked out for a fairytale wedding, and he almost felt guilty for ruining it. But he knew he was doing the right thing, and that was enough for him. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he whirled round to see Marcus.

"You alright, mate?"

"God, you scared me Marcus!"

"Sorry 'bout that. Anyways, Tom Carter said you wanted to speak to me?"

"Yeah… look, is it alright if I glamour into you for the first part of the ceremony? Just so I can get into the wedding without getting kicked out."

"Sure. But why are you here if you weren't invited?"

"Well, I'm sort of going to get Steffi back. When the vicar says that bit about objecting, I'm going to stand up."

"As me?"

"No, as me you idiot," Cole smacked him lightly on the cheek and grinned. "Who's the best man?"

"Some guy from Phil's work, I dunno," shrugged Marcus, smiling back. "Bit up himself if you ask me though."

"Really? Well then, he's certainly not good enough for Steffi's wedding." Guests started to file in, and Cole pulled Marcus into a corner near the pew where he was sitting according to the plan. "Okay, you stay here. I'll come in with whoever the bridesmaid is you're accompanying, and then I'll let you sit down. I'll fade into a seat near the middle, and then no one will ever know."

"Sounds good to me. Good luck, Mr Turner." Marcus shook Cole's hand, and then went into hiding. Cole neatly glamoured into Marcus and stood by the door, awaiting his orders.

Cole took the arm of a pretty bridesmaid called Amanda and led her down the aisle. She whispered to him,

"Marcus, I know you had problems with Chelsea, but I'm nothing like her I promise. Take my number." She pushed a piece of paper into his pocket and sat down. As soon as Cole saw Marcus he passed him the paper.

"Good luck mate, she seems nice enough!" Then, he faded into a seat about ten pews back and made himself comfortable.

Steffi bit her lip, and heard the wedding march being played. She looked at Danielle, who smiled at her reassuringly. Somebody whispered to her to get moving, and she made her way slowly down to the altar.

As soon as Cole saw Steffi, he was struck by her appearance and gasped. She really was beautiful, walking down the aisle like that, her hair like that, her dress fitted like that… he could hardly wait until the vicar said those vital words. Tom, who was leading Steffi down the aisle, craned his neck around behind Steffi and winked at Cole, who nodded and glamoured back into himself, safe now that Steffi had passed him. Now for the service.

The service began, and dragged on for far too long in Steffi's opinion. She could've sworn it hadn't been this long during rehearsals… ah well, as soon as it was over, and she had become Mrs Carmella Gregory, then she could start all over again. She could forget about Cole, those thousands of wasted kisses, those wasted moments where she would just look at him and smile… she could forget about the time she would never get back.

"…If there is any person who knows of any lawful reason why these two may not be joined in holy matrimony, may he speak now or forever hold his peace," said the vicar. He took a breath, ready to carry on, but then his eyes widened as a man stood up and said clearly,

"I know of a reason. The bride doesn't love the groom; she loves me." Steffi didn't have to turn her head to look at the gasping congregation, and look at the man who had spoken. She knew he was looking at her. Phil muttered,

"Cammy? Who is it?"

"…It's Cole…"


	10. I Would Run Away With Who?

Chapter 10 – I Would Run Away With Who?

Part II of II.

Cole edged his way out of the pew and started walking up to the altar. Steffi stood up, shocked, and tried to make sense of it all. Phil also stood up, but instead of being calm and collected as he could be, chose to blow his top.

"What gives you, some ex-boyfriend of hers, the right to come here and tell me she still loves you?! You left six months ago, and she stayed here with me. What does that tell you, eh?!"

"It shows me that she felt bound to some duty towards you! That she's too sweet and kind to leave you because you asked her to marry you!"

"Well, you're wrong! She stayed because she loves me, not you!" Phil got closer to Cole and looked at him with anger in his eyes. Steffi finally pulled herself together just seconds before a fight began, and stood between the two.

"Did anyone even think to ask what I thought?! Who I want to be with?! No, you frickin' well didn't ask the person who's feelings you're discussing! Jesus…" The congregation, enraptured by the scene unfolding before them, sat motionless as Steffi sat down in front of the altar.

"I'm sorry, sweetie," Cole said, crouching next to her. Phil, not to be outdone, crouched on the other side of her. "But I had to see you again; I had to save you from this, this sham of a marriage."

"Watch who you're calling a sham, buddy boy!" Phil snarled.

"This was supposed to be my day," Steffi said, staring at the carpet. "Weddings are supposed to be the happiest days of a girl's life. But look what you're doing to it, to my day! Phil, he's right; I don't love you, not as much as I ought to and not as much as you deserve. I love Cole more than I love anything in this world, even my mom and dad; but I can't be with him." She turned to look at Cole, and touched his cheek gently. "If you don't trust me when I say that I love you and that I can't ever be without you, then I can't be with you. I need trust, and security, and all the other things that women need and crave, but you never gave them to me. At first I wondered if that was my fault, but now I see that it's just the fact that you haven't got them to give. So you see," she said, standing up gracefully, "I can't be with either of you. Neither of you have what I need, and I can't be with a guy who can't have everything I need." With that, she picked up her skirts and fled down the aisle.

Cole was the first person to run after her, easily catching up with her before she had even left the church.

"Steffi, I do have everything you need! That day in the hotel, I didn't say anything because I didn't know you felt that way about me still, after all that time! It's been two years since the baby died," he looked up to the sky a moment, as if in remembrance, "and it's been two years for me which have been filled with regrets. I lost you, I found you, I lost you again… let this be the last time I have to find you."

"So you regretted finding me?" Steffi's brow creased with confusion.

"No. That day I saw you in Tom's office was the happiest day in a long time for me, and those precious few days were the best days I'd ever spent with you. I do love you, and I can't let you go again. It would kill me." Steffi looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"Oh God…" she murmured and fell into his arms. Cole kissed her cheeks, and let her sob quietly. Phil, stunned, began striding down the aisle towards them, muttering angrily to himself. Tearing the two apart, he took Steffi by the shoulders.

"Cammy, you know how much I love you. Cole is just using you for some sick and twisted reason; I mean, look how much older he is! What is he, thirty odd?"

"Hundred and twenty, actually." Cole said coldly.

"Shut up! You had your say, now let me have mine. Cam, you're the best thing that ever happened to a guy like me, and I don't want to let you go without you knowing that if you leave, I will travel the world to find you. I promise you that now. When I found out about Cole, I was more upset than I can ever remember being. But I love you so much that I was willing to put him behind us and make a new start. I thought you felt the same – please don't tell me I'm wrong about that." Steffi looked up at Phil and realised this wasn't just a lame attempt at trying to win against Cole; he genuinely loved her. She put a hand on his cheek and tried to smile at him through her tears. He kissed her wrist and put his arms round her, and she gladly nestled into him. Cole felt his heart sinking as she cuddled into Phil, and he began to consider leaving.

"Steffi? If this is your decision, then I'll accept it. But I want you to know that I'm glad I did this today; because you look more beautiful than you've ever looked before, and I'm so happy that this will be my final memory of you." With the most heart-wrenching pain he'd ever felt, Cole turned away and walked out of the church.

When he was halfway down the road, he thought he could hear the clattering of high heels on the pavement. He turned, hopefully, and was disappointed to see that there was no one following him. He was about to walk forward when he stepped on something white and rustling.

"I'll have you know this is a Donna Karan dress," a voice said, panting slightly.

_A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed not mine._

_Wow she went after him… get the balls on her huh?_


	11. This Year's Love

Chapter 11 – This Year's Love.

Cole looked at Steffi, stunned. She smiled slightly and moved her dress so that it rustled across the sidewalk.

"Y-you followed me?" Cole said in disbelief.

"I thought about it, and I realised something. With Phil, I'm settling for second best, and that's something I shouldn't have to do. And I guess I also realised that I was marrying the wrong man this morning, when I looked at myself in the mirror. I knew I should've been walking down that aisle to you." She looked down, blushing, and a light rain started to fall. Her hair began to fall out where she had been running, getting wispier with the rain, and her mascara had begun to run from her tears. Cole realised that she was more beautiful now than she ever had been in the church, and gently he kissed her. She kissed back, and wrapped her arms around his neck as he put his hands on her waist.

"You know, I always imagined seeing you in a wedding dress," murmured Cole. "But now that I've seen you in one, I realise that you're more beautiful than I could ever have imagined." Steffi fingered the beaded bodice affectionately.

"It certainly is a beautiful dress… but somewhere inside I think it's a bit showy for a little girl like me. I was brought up in the country with five brothers and without such luxuries; I'm really just a country bumpkin at heart."

"You're my bumpkin, my little Steffi-bumpkin," Cole said with a grin. "I miss my Steffi-bumpkin."

"I can't believe you're calling me Steffi-bumpkin, you're supposed to be the grown up one!" She cuddled into him, letting him stroke her hair, and sighed softly. "I just skipped out on my own wedding, didn't I? I left Phil at the altar in front of everyone…"

"We'll go and get your stuff tomorrow," Cole said. "You coming back to San Francisco with me?"

"There's no other place in this world I'd rather be, but-"

"So I'll get a taxi, yeah?" Cole interrupted, sticking his hand out into the traffic, trying to hail a taxi.

"Cole… I can't leave him. I only came here to tell you that I'm staying in New York, because I can't do him wrong like that. I can't hurt anybody else." Cole pulled his hand back sharply.

"Steffi, you don't have to do this! I can't let you do this to yourself!" Steffi kissed him gently, and put a hand on his waist.

"Don't make it harder for me, baby. I will always love you, but I have a duty to Phil and his family. Everyone is out there, and I can't embarrass him like that; I can't embarrass myself like that." Cole pulled her arms around him, burying his head in her shoulder, desperately clinging onto her. She disentangled him gently, holding his face in her hands. Tears sprung in his eyes as she began to walk away, and she heard him start to sob. As she turned to look at him, to let him persuade her to come back, he turned away and began to walk away. For the second time, Steffi's heart broke over him.

"Phil?" Twenty minutes later, Steffi stepped back into the church looking the picture of elegance and grace. "I'm sorry about that everybody… now where were we?"

"Well, if that's all settled, and if Mr Gregory wants to continue…" the vicar said, looking slightly ruffled.

"I just want to marry her," Phil said, smiling at Steffi. "That is, if she will still have me after that proposition from Mr Turner."

"Forget Cole, honey. He's gone for good."

"In that case, let's get on with the ceremony!"

As the dancing began at the reception, Steffi and Phil took their first dance as man and wife.

_This year's love had better last,_

_Heaven knows it's high time,_

_I've been waiting on my own too long,_

_When you hold me like you do,_

_It feels so right, oh now,_

_I start to forget how my heart gets torn,_

_When that hurt gets thrown,_

_Feeling like you can't go on._

_Turning circles time again,_

_Cuts like a knife, oh now,_

_If you love me got to know for sure,_

_Cos it takes something more this time,_

_Than sweet, sweet lies, oh now,_

_Before I open up my arms and fall,_

_Losing all control,_

_Every dream inside my soul,_

_When you kiss me on that midnight street,_

_Sweep me off my feet,_

_Singing 'Ain't this life so sweet?'_

_This year's love had better last._

_This year's love had better last,_

_Cos who's to worry if our hearts get torn,_

_When that hurt gets thrown,_

_Don't you notice life goes on,_

_Won't you kiss me on that midnight street?_

_Sweep me off my feet,_

_Singing 'Ain't this life so sweet?'_

_This year's love had better last…_

As Steffi and Phil made their way across the floor, tears began to fall from her eyes. Phil wiped them away with a gentle movement of his thumb, and smiled at her. She smiled back, and let Phil draw her closer as they slowly waltzed in time to the music. Closing her eyes, she saw Cole standing in the street, walking away from her. She sighed gently, and resigned herself to her new life; a life where there was no Steffi and Cole, only Phillip Gregory and his new young wife, Carmella Gregory.


	12. Everything Changes

Chapter 12 – Everything Changes.

_Nine months later._

"Phil! The contractions are getting closer! I'm getting one every minute!" Steffi called from the bedroom, breathing heavily. She appeared in the doorway, her stomach swollen from pregnancy.

"Okay baby, just calm down!" Phil said, as he rushed into their living room with a bag. "So, we've got your pyjamas, your toothbrush and toothpaste, hairbrush, shampoo and conditioner, shower gel, make up… anything else you can think of?" Steffi shook her head and moaned as her contractions began again.

"Just get me to the damn hospital!" She began to breathe as her pre-natal nurse had advised, and grimaced as the contraction hit. Phil ran up to her and kissed her on the cheek lovingly, putting a hand on her bump.

"I love you, my precious girl! And my new little one too…"

"That's very sweet, and we love you too. Now get me to the damn hospital so I can get some kind of anaesthetic!" Steffi said in warning tones, her patience thinning.

"Okay Cammy, I get it." Phil ran out the front door and pressed the elevator button, coming back for her overnight bag. "Come on, the elevator will be here any second now!" Steffi waddled out of the apartment and into the open elevator. There was a shrill scream as the doors closed, signalling another contraction.

At half past six the next morning, Steffi gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. Bundled in blankets, she cradled her new baby and cherished the moment alone with it.

"Hey there, little one! I'm your mommy, and you can call me Mommy. My real name is Stephanie, but your daddy calls me Carmella because that's my New Yorker name. Your daddy is called Philip, but Mommy calls him Phil. You can call him Daddy, or Dada if you prefer. But now for the real dilemma – what shall we call you, precious?"

"How about Precious? It suits her down to the ground," Phil said as he appeared in the doorway, one hand bandaged and the other holding a huge teddy bear and several balloons. Steffi laughed at him.

"I'm not calling her Precious, it makes her sound like an exotic dancer! Next thing you know, you'll be putting tassels in unmentionable places. Why is your hand bandaged sweetie?"

"From where you squeezed it when you were pushing. I said lightly squeeze, not crack one of my bones! Jesus you must have some kind of supernatural strength or something…" Steffi smiled nervously.

"No, I'm just a tough cookie. But uh, I was thinking we could call her Alicia… what do you think?"

"Alicia Gregory; I like it." Phil sat on the edge of the bed and kissed the top of Steffi's head. "What about her middle name? Or is she not going to have one?"

"Decisions, decisions," smiled Steffi. "Are there any names in your family you would like to include?"

"Not really… my mom's called Teresa but that's about it. How about you?"

"Phil, you know I never really knew my mother. That's an unfair question to ask."

"I'm sorry honey, really I am. I guess I wasn't thinking… how about Elizabeth?" Steffi wrinkled her nose delicately.

"Then her initials would be A.E.G – isn't that a brand of fridge or something? I always liked Grace… Grace Alicia Gregory."

"Maybe she could have two middle names? Grace Teresa Alicia Gregory, I like that." Grace gurgled happily, and the proud parents looked down upon their first born.

"I think she does too," Steffi said gently, and Phil dipped his head to kiss her. She moved her head so he could only kiss her cheek, and for a moment he looked dejected.

"I love you," he said, almost hopefully. Perhaps now she would say 'I love you too', instead of her usual response. He was disappointed when she said, as usual,

"You too, honey. You too." He got off the bed and decided to leave his wife with their daughter.

Once he was outside, he sat on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and sighed heavily. When had their marriage become like this? Perhaps it was because she'd become pregnant so early on, but she always seemed so distant. Sometimes he would watch her staring into space, and it frightened him that she could be so near and yet so far away from him at the same time. He knew who she was thinking of, but he chose not to bring it up; it would only cause another argument like the one they had had on the second day of their honeymoon when he dared to suggest that maybe she still had feelings for Cole. She'd stormed out of the hotel and hadn't come back until the early hours of the morning, and he spent the next day apologising to her profusely until she'd softened. He heard her now, at night when he'd watch her sleeping, muttering Cole's name with a small smile upon her perfect lips. But he said nothing, knowing that with her volatile temper and tendency to have dramatic, and often unprecedented, mood swings their marriage could be over within the year. He loved her so dearly, and yet she was always thinking of Cole and what he was doing. But if he tried to help her include him in their lives, they would have yet another argument. When he'd asked her to invite Cole to their New Year's Eve party, they'd spent almost three whole hours screaming at each other, only stopping when Cammy had rushed to the toilet to be violently sick. That was the day they had discovered she was three months pregnant. But on New Year's Eve, she'd told him she loved him, and if memory served him correctly that was the last time she had said it to that day. She spent so much time in his head that she wouldn't have been able to fathom it, and yet her mind was full of regret that she'd gone with Phil, and not Cole. Phil sighed again as he thought of all the times he had been told off for letting his mind wander to her, just wondering what she was doing at that moment or even just whether she was thinking of him. But he was sure she was not. She would be absent mindedly folding the laundry and thinking what life would've been like for her if she'd left with Cole that day. He knew it, she knew it; they both knew the other knew it. Yet they would never discuss it.

Cammy was the perfect wife; beautiful, charming, polite, and she carried her pregnancy well. She was the belle of his precinct, and he would often 'forget' his lunches that she would so carefully prepare, just so she would visit him at the station. He loved seeing his colleagues' faces as she would come in, knowing everyone was staring and not really seeming to care, kissing him on the cheek and putting his lunch on the desk. Everyone would stare, especially when she would bend over the desk to kiss his cheek. Then she'd smile at him and say,

"I'm a busy girl, honey. Next time I won't bring it out to you!" But she always did. She was good like that.

Sure, he knew what they would always say about her at the station – she was going to have an affair before long; that she would leave him; that they were in with a chance. Sometimes Phil worried about that. Did they know that Cammy had never kissed him passionately, that they hadn't even had sex since their honeymoon ended? It wasn't because she was frigid – he knew that – it was because Cole was still on her mind. It was Cole, not him, that turned her on, that made her do the things he so wanted to do. It brought a lump to his throat to even consider it, but perhaps she was thinking about Cole when she'd become pregnant. Maybe that was why she hated being intimate with him – she was afraid that she was betraying him by wanting him to be someone else. By wanting him to be Cole.

Steffi was also thinking about Cole. Would he be as happy as Phil had been if he'd been the father? If they were married? She looked down at Grace, who had fallen asleep.

"It's so easy for you, hey Gracie?" Steffi murmured quietly to her sleeping daughter. "You don't have to be the perfect wife for a man you don't love with all your heart, do you? You don't dream of a guy who isn't your husband, do you? No, you just gurgle cutely and cry. And poop," she added as an afterthought. "You're gonna poop a lot." She turned her head to look out the window, and her eye was caught by the phone next to her bed. She picked up the receiver and dialled a familiar number.


	13. No Regrets

Chapter 13 – No Regrets.

"Hello?" The female voice was not one Steffi had been expecting.

"Uh, hey. Is Mr Turner there?"

"I'll just put you through. Who shall I say is calling?"

"Tell him… just tell him it's important."

"Okay madam, if you would wait two seconds…" There was a click, and then a different voice spoke.

"Cole Turner here. Who's this?"

"It's me, I'm afraid."

"Steffi? What do you want to break now, my leg? My arm? I'd offer you my heart, but unfortunately you already broke it!"

"Before you start, let me just-"

"I loved you so much, and you just threw it away for some guy you don't even love!"

"Cole-"

"If you're calling to find out if I still love you, then you're too late."

"Would you shut up and listen?? I just wanted you to know that I'm a mommy now, and I was hoping you would be happy for me. Obviously I was wrong, and you've turned into some bitter old man who can't tell the difference between not loving someone and loving someone whilst having to do your duty to another. Looks like I was lucky to get out when I could, huh?"

"You're pregnant?"

"Was pregnant. I gave birth this morning to a baby girl, Grace. I just wanted to see if you were interested in being her godfather, or whether you were going to be as childish and pig-headed as to refuse. Have I got my answer then?"

"I-I would be honoured to be her godfather… what does Phil think about this?"

"He doesn't know I'm asking you. But he knows that you've affected our entire marriage, and he still wants to make an effort with you for me; for us. Heaven knows I've tried to love him, but you have always been there and he just doesn't measure up does he now? No one measures up to you."

"Steffi, I will be Grace's godfather. So why are you telling me all this?"

"So you know how I feel before I explode with not telling anyone. And also so I can finally get over you."

"Well, the same goes for you from my point of view."

"Great. So, I'll send you the christening details soon. Bye!" She hung up and looked down at the still sleeping Grace. "Well, now that's been said, I can be a better wife to Daddy."

Phil came in a little later, and smiled when he saw Steffi and Grace curled up fast asleep. He touched Steffi's shoulder gently, and she woke up.

"What time is it?" She stretched, cat-like, and put Grace in the incubator next to her.

"Time you were awake," Phil said with a small smile and he dipped his head to kiss her. Instead of his lips touching her cheek, he found that his lips had found hers and she was kissing back. For a moment he hesitated, thinking that it was too good to be true, before slowly making the kiss more passionate. She responded happily, and wrapped her arms round his neck. Phil began to hope against hope that maybe, just maybe, her cold approach was beginning to thaw. Perhaps Cole had said something, done something to make her hate him or, even better, get over him. He sat down next to her and put his hand on her waist tentatively, trying to find his boundaries. She let him gently push her back, and was happy just to kiss and cuddle with him.

"I love you," Phil said when they finally pulled apart, keeping her arms around his neck and gently kissing her neck. What came next he didn't expect at all.

"I love you too," Steffi said, smiling at him. Soon, she thought to herself, I'll mean it.


	14. Welcome Home

Chapter 14 – Welcome Home.

"Welcome home, baby!" Phil opened the door to the apartment, and Steffi gasped in awe. It had been decked out in baby things, cots and play sets, all ready for when Steffi and Grace came home. Steffi flung her free arm around Phil, kissing him happily. Grace gurgled in her other arm, and Steffi pulled away from Phil to smile at her.

"Phil, how do I deserve you?" She gave him another kiss, and allowed him to pull her close into him.

"I ask myself the same about you, gorgeous." Phil had been happy ever since Steffi had given him that kiss two days ago in the hospital, and in a burst of good will had enlisted Marcus and Katy to help him decorate the apartment for her return with baby Grace. They shared another tender kiss, and were suddenly interrupted as Marcus and Katy burst out of the bathroom, yelling at the tops of their voices,

"WELCOME HOME!!" Grace was undisturbed by the noise, and Katy rushed over to look at her.

"Oh, Cam, she's gorgeous!" She stroked her cheeks and played with the small tuft of blonde hair that stuck out from the bundles of blankets, visual proof that she would one day be her mother's daughter. Marcus went over to Phil and shook his hand, congratulating him. When Katy eventually moved away, he went over to talk to Steffi.

"This is Grace, I take it?" He smiled at her, and kissed the child's little head.

"Yeah, unless I brought the wrong baby home!"

"She's beautiful, I really mean that."

"Wow, are you being flippant or serious?"

"Deadly serious. She's as beautiful as her mom." Steffi looked at him and tried to find out why he was suddenly being so nice. "Look, I need to talk to you about something. It's kind of important."

"Uh, okay. What's it about honey?" Marcus smiled when he heard her call him 'honey'.

"It's about… it can wait."

"You're not moving are you? Because Katy's going to live with Nick and I couldn't bear it if you left me."

"Erm… course not Cam. You and Phil look happy."

"Between you and me, I think relations are going to improve between the two of us."

"Oh yeah? Why's that then?"

"Because I'm really starting to love him. I couldn't see it before, but now I do… he's the one I'm supposed to be with. He gave me Grace, what more proof do I need?" She stroked her now sleeping daughter's cheek and looked over to Phil lovingly. He caught her looking at him and smiled at her, looking more at ease than he had in the last nine months. Marcus sighed inwardly.

"Look, Carmella… can we go in your room for a moment?" She nodded, and gave Grace to Phil.

Once they were in the room, Steffi laid out on her bed.

"I love this bed! It's so comfy and nice… anyways, say what you wanted to."

"You know how unhappy I was at your reception?"

"Of course I do, I was worried about you. What was the matter with you?"

"It's silly, really. But it means something to me."

"Honey," Steffi sat up, concerned. "This sounds serious… tell me, please."

"I've uh… wow this is embarrassing… I've got a crush on you," he said hurriedly. "More than a crush; I've pretty much fallen for you. I can't take my eyes off of you; you're all I can think of. Even when I'm with Mandy, and you know how great she is… it's always going to be you. When you weren't happy with Phil, I was always there for you, hoping that you could maybe see me as more than just a shoulder to cry on, maybe there could be something between us… maybe I could be the new Cole in your life." He took a long breath, as if he had been under water for hours. Steffi looked at him for a moment or two, as if to ascertain whether he was being truthful or not.

"Oh God, Marcus… that's so sweet. But I don't need another Cole, and I know how helpful you were when I was fighting with Phil. But you must've known that there was never going to be a 'me and you'…" Marcus nodded and blushed.

"Sorry about that Cam. It's just me, that's all. I should probably move out for a bit… I'll go live with Mandy, it's no problem."

"You don't have to do that honey, I'm sure we'll be fine." There was a silence until Marcus finally said,

"There was a message for you from Cole." Steffi's heart skipped a beat.

"Really? What did he say?"

"That uh… he's in town from tomorrow and he'd love to see you and the new baby. I said you'd be here, and I knew that Phil would be working so… he's coming over sometime."

"Thanks for telling me sweetie…" Steffi stood up and gave Marcus a kiss on the cheek. "You're the best."

_A/N and Disclaimer: Do we really have to do this again?_

_So Marcus loves Steffi… well, who doesn't._


	15. And So It Is

Chapter 15 – And So It Is.

The doorbell buzzed just as Steffi was about to feed Grace. She sighed, then continued and went to go and get the door.

"Oh, hey Cole! We weren't expecting you for a while yet!" Steffi tried to cover herself up as Cole turned away politely. When she was finished, Cole went to kiss her and she turned her cheek, knowing that he would forget what had happened and try to kiss her a little differently. She smiled awkwardly, and moved back.

"I've got a meeting soon, so I thought I'd pop in early… this is my little goddaughter then, hmm?" He reached out to touch Grace's cheek, and Steffi gave her to him. He cradled her gently, and Steffi smiled at the sight of them.

"She's called Grace… isn't she beautiful?"

"Not as beautiful as her mother, but when we look at her history then perhaps that's a blessing." Cole wouldn't look at Steffi when he spoke. "So how are you?"

"Me? I'm not so bad, not so bad at all. Things are improving between me and Phil finally; we're actually touching each other now."

"What was wrong with you two then?"

"You want the nice answer, or the honest answer?"

"Honest; it would be nice to hear you telling the truth for once." Steffi bit her lip, trying to keep her temper.

"It was you, actually. I had Cole on the brain and it started to screw with my marriage, but we're okay now. I think it's because I know this baby couldn't be yours, not with those eyes." She took Grace back and held her against her breast.

"Good to know I have a lasting impression, isn't it?"

"If you like."

Steffi made her way into the kitchen, trying to escape the oppressive atmosphere between the two of them. Putting Grace down in the cot which Phil had put in the kitchen, she sighed heavily. Why was this so hard? It was just Cole, the one true love of her life… wait; he couldn't be, not if she loved Phil. She did love Phil, but then again she wasn't quite over Cole… Putting her head in her hands, she closed her eyes.

"How can you love two people without breaking apart?" Steffi said to no one in particular. Grace began to cry, and Steffi tried to pull herself together. When she had, she turned around to see Cole comforting Grace.

"Sorry, she was crying and I thought you were asleep or something… look do you want me to go? You're tired and I'm snippy, we're no good like this. I can come back later if you want."

"No, you don't have to do that. Let me just feed Grace and then I can put her down for her nap, but then we need to talk."

When Steffi returned, Cole had made two cups of steaming coffee and was sat on the sofa smiling slightly.

"You make a great mom. You look so natural with Grace, it's like she's a part of you."

"Of course she's a part of me, she was in my stomach for nine months," Steffi said, returning his smile.

"I forget these things, leave me alone." Steffi went and sat on the opposite side to Cole, picking up a mug of coffee and sipping it happily.

"This has to be one of the best mugs of coffee I have ever drunk. Maybe it's because it's my first cup since I got out of hospital… I don't know. But yesterday I got home and Phil had done the living room up for a party and Marcus and Katy were here, and then I was so tired I fell asleep on this here sofa." She patted it affectionately.

"I can remember another time when you fell asleep on this here sofa," Cole said, his voice sounding far away. "It was two nights before I was due to leave for San Francisco, and it was just you and me. Phil was working and you weren't pregnant… I remember it so well." Steffi sighed and drank more coffee.

"Maybe you should start to let it go," she said carefully. "After all, it's over a year ago now, and a lot of water has passed under the bridge."

"Why should I let go of some of the happiest memories I have? You can't sit here and tell me that you've let every happy memory we had go to waste just because we broke up."

"No, I just try not to remember them in such detail. It's a waste of my time, looking back at what we've had and lost – twice. If it happens more than once… it's an omen, in my opinion. Now can we just forget about it and have a conversation which doesn't revolve around us?" Cole looked at her silently, and she tried to hold his gaze, but could not. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Cole's unexpected kiss. She told herself not to respond, but found herself putting her arms around his neck and kissing back, enjoying the passion and familiarity. Neither of them heard the key in the lock, scratching around then the opening of the door. Neither of them saw the head of scruffy brown hair poke around the corner. They only sprang apart when the head said,

"So this is why you said no, is it Cam?"

"Marcus, it's not like that at all… we're not doing anything…" Steffi desperately tried to push Cole off her and pull her shirt back over herself, as Cole wiped his mouth and moved away, looking sheepish.

"You just can't keep your hands off each other, can you? I think that's just… you know, words can't describe what I think about that! Cam, all I've heard you say recently is how much you love Phil; doesn't bloody well look like it now, does it?" Marcus was shaking with rage and betrayal, and Cole sat up to look at Steffi.

"You love Phil? But you… you can't!"

"I can, and I do. But I've still got feelings for Cole… oh, God." Steffi put her head in her hands and began to sob quietly as Marcus stormed out and Cole watched her, speechlessly.

"Oh my God… you still love me."

_A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed belongs to the WB._

_Of course Steffi still loves him. What kind of idiot doesn't realise that? And that Marcus is just dumb if he thinks he can replace Cole._


	16. Bad Day

Chapter 16 – Bad Day.

"Baby, you still love me! That is such great news…"

"No, it isn't! Its horrible news; and it makes me the guilty one because, whichever way you skew it, I'm the one cheating!" She jumped up and started pacing. "My God, where does this leave me?"

"Come and live with me in San Francisco! Bring Grace, we can start our own little family… we could be happy together, like we always wanted. And she's a demon, Steffi; how do you think Phil would react if he saw little three year old Grace torching a pot-plant with a fireball? Or shimmering into your bed because she's had a nightmare? Or conjuring her pacifier out of nowhere? If it was you and I, we could tell her that it's normal for her to do these things, and we wouldn't overreact if she accidentally blew her bed up." Steffi looked torn, between her fantasy and her reality.

"But Phil would accept these things, I know he would…"

"Why haven't you told him about your powers before, then?" Cole asked gently.

"There hasn't been a right time… you need to pick your moments carefully you know. It's not like I can say during sex, 'hey baby, guess what? I've got magical powers!'"

"I accept that, but at the same time you need to tell him, sooner rather than later."

"But… but… I can't do that to him, Cole."

"Then come with me; you don't have to explain anything that way. I already know."

"Phil means more to me than that, he deserves more than that. I couldn't just skip out on him!" There was a sudden wailing from Steffi's room, and she ran into her room. "Gracie? Shhh its okay honey… it's all okay… Mommy's here…" Cole sat down, listening to Steffi's attempts to calm her daughter. He thought how great she sounded, and heard Grace start to calm down. Then, Steffi appeared in the doorway looking panicked.

"What is it, Steffi?"

"Grace… she's burning up. Oh God Cole, what if she's sick?"

"Calm down honey, I'm sure she's fine." He went into the room and put a hand on Grace's forehead, his brow furrowing as he felt the heat coming off her.

"I'm taking her to the hospital… don't frown like that! What is it?"

"When did she get this rash?"

"Wh-what rash?" Cole showed her the cluster of purple dots on Grace's little arm. "I haven't seen that before… Jesus, what's wrong with her?" Steffi ran over to Grace and picked her up. Cole conjured a glass and pressed it against the rash. The spots did not fade.

"I think… it might be meningitis."

"What? How could she… I've got to call Phil." She picked up the phone and dialled the number.

"NYPD, how can I help?"

"Nadia, get Phil for me! It's urgent."

"Umm okay…" There was a click as Nadia put the call through.

"Cammy? What's up sweetie?"

"Gracie's sick!" Steffi's voice broke as she began to cry. "I-I think it might be meningitis… oh God Phil, what am I gonna do?"

"Calm down honey… where are you?"

"A-at home."

"I'll be there in ten." He slammed the phone down and started to leave. Before he could even get a foot out of the door, his commander yelled,

"Gregory! Where do you think you're going??"

"Sir, my four day old daughter is sick and my wife is quite rightly panicking. We have to get her to the hospital, but Carmella is getting hysterical and I've got to be there for her sir, I've got to!" There was a wolf whistle from the back of the room.

"Carmella hysterical? I wouldn't mind being there for that, especially if she started ripping her clothes off!" Amidst the jeers and whistles, Phil slipped out of the office and jumped in his car. He was at the apartment in seven minutes.

As soon as Phil opened the door, Steffi ran up to him and sobbed as he held her close. After a minute, he said softly,

"Where's Gracie now?" Steffi pointed wordlessly at the cot, and watched through teary eyes as Phil checked on her. "Let's go," Phil said, looking serious.

"She's really sick, isn't she?" Steffi said worriedly as they sprinted down the stairs to the car.

"It's not looking good, I know that much."

"After I lost the first baby… I can't lose Gracie, I just can't."

"We're not going to lose her," said Phil as he strapped the bawling Grace into her car seat. "Not if I can help it, anyway." Steffi got in the car and bit her thumbnail nervously.

"Drive, Phil," she murmured when he clambered into the driver's seat. "Drive as fast as you can."

Cole watched as the car drove off, and bit his lip. He hoped that they got there in time, for all their sakes. As he faded out, he pocketed the precious little cotton bud.

_A/N and Disclaimer: Nope I don't own copyright to Charmed or Cole._

_Well that was a bit dramatic. I mean, how plausible is that? Good thing this is fiction._


	17. Hold On

Chapter 17 – Hold On.

Once at the hospital, Steffi grabbed her daughter and ran inside. Phil was hot on her heels, and ran over to the desk.

"My daughter… we think she's got meningitis." He pointed at Steffi who was desperately trying to calm Grace down.

"Uh-huh," said the gum popping, blonde receptionist. "So what do you like, expect me to like, do? I'm no like, surgeon."

"Could you get me one? I'd really appreciate it." The receptionist sighed and pressed a button with a long, manicured nail.

"Doctor Khan to reception, Doctor Khan to reception." A young Eastern man came running in a few minutes later, and shook hands with Phil.

"Doctor Imran Khan, Gynaecology Unit. What appears to be the matter?"

"Officer Phillip Gregory, NYPD. My daughter… it looks like meningitis. Come and see." He escorted the doctor over to Steffi, who was still attempting to calm Grace down.

"Please calm down, Gracie!" Steffi pleaded. On seeing the doctor she blushed slightly and let Phil take Grace.

"Doctor Imran Khan, Gynaecology Unit," said the doctor and shook Steffi's hand.

"Carmella Gregory, terrified mother."

"Well, she looks fine… temperature is abnormally high though. What made you think she has meningitis?" Steffi pushed the sleeve up on Grace's sleep suit and revealed the rash. "That would probably be why," smiled Doctor Khan. "If you'll just follow me then I'll give her a more detailed examination…"

Grace was sleeping in an incubator, under observation. Steffi and Phil watched as their daughter was injected and sedated, then had tubes put in her nose. Steffi turned her face into Phil's jacket when the nurse started to put her on an IV drip, and Phil kissed the top of her head.

"It's okay baby, they know what they're doing with her. She's in good hands." Steffi's small frame shook as she sobbed silently into her husband's police uniform, and he led her to a seat a few metres away from the observation ward.

"This is my fault somehow, I know it… it's my punishment for going off with Cole, isn't it?" Phil kissed her face gently.

"Of course it isn't! I'm sure she's just fine, and she'll be home by tomorrow."

"What if she isn't? What if our daughter dies and it's entirely my fault because I did something stupid?"

"She's not going to die, I promise. And if you didn't do stupid things, then you wouldn't be human."

"I'm not human," Steffi mumbled miserably.

"Of course you are; what do you mean?" Phil stroked her cheek and let her lean into him.

"I'm not human, not really. I'm a demon." Phil started to laugh, but then stopped when he saw she was deadly serious.

"You're a what now?"

"A demon. I can manipulate fire, and I can shimmer from place to place, and I can conjure objects out of thin air. How else do you think I managed to get so many clothes?"

"Honey, demons don't exist. They're imaginary, and I'm worried about you. Maybe you should get some sleep or something…"

"No, watch my fingers." Steffi clicked her fingers, and a small flame flickered into life between her thumb and forefinger.

"You've got a lighter in your hand, haven't you?" Phil uncurled her fingers, only to find there was nothing there, and the flame had remained. He moved away from her, shocked. "What are you?!"

"I'm a demon," she said, still sounding miserable. "And our daughter's gonna be one and it's all my fault!" Phil looked torn, between his wife's obvious distress and his fear at what she had just revealed to him.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a… a… why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because I knew you'd react like that, and I didn't want to lose you over something so small."

"Small? Small?! You just showed me that you could blow me up with a click of your fingers and you call that small?!"

"Yeah okay, keep it down! I didn't even show you a fireball yet, jeez! And it seems small to me because I've lived with it my whole life, and it's a part of me. I wasn't going to tell you, but if Grace gets powers then you should be prepared… I don't know what she may have inherited. If my mom's powers skipped a generation, then there's gonna be some interesting levitation going on around our house."

"Levitation?"

"Yeah, it's… we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." Phil sighed and shuffled back over to her, holding her tight.

"I don't understand half of what you just said; and the half I did understand I'm terrified of; but you're my beautiful, lovely, perfect wife and I love you. So whatever you said, bring it on; because I'm not going to let you go just because you're an arsonist." She cuddled into him again, and sat in silence for a moment.

"You know, that might be why she's got a temperature; she's the daughter of a fire starter after all, and I'm always running hot because of it. It might not be meningitis at all…"

"Carmella – you are joking?"

"Well it's a possibility… but that's no ordinary rash." Phil looked at her a moment, trying to read her expression.

"I don't know what you are, or anything about you anymore… but I kinda like it this way." He smiled at her and kissed her passionately. She kissed back and giggled as he tickled her gently.

In San Francisco, Cole was opening a large brown envelope. He looked at the initial paperwork briefly, and skipped to the real results. His heart leapt as he read the results of the paternity test, and he put the papers down on his desk with a sigh.

_A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed really doesn't have anything to do with me at all._

_Is Grace Cole's baby? Has Grace got some weird disease? Will Phil stay with Steffi when he learns her whole story? You gonna read the next chapter and stop asking me dumb rhetorical questions?_


	18. Starting Over

Chapter 18 – Starting Over.

_As soon as Grace was cleared of serious illness, Steffi and Phil took her home. Within four years, Grace had learned to fade, levitate, and, to both parents' surprise, glamour. Steffi told Phil her whole story, from alcoholic, chain smoking hooker to sensible, sexy working mom. It's in the aftermath of these revelations that we join them now…_

"…So that's why I filed for divorce," explained Phil calmly. "We're too different these days, and I think it's better for both of us if we split."

"What does your wife… Carmella Gregory think of this?" The lawyer asked.

"She agrees with me. She doesn't want our daughter being brought up in such a toxic environment as our house is becoming. It's like a war zone some nights, and Carmella doesn't want Grace to think this is what every relationship is like. We're either yelling at each other or sleeping with each other," he said, going a little pink. "I love Cammy with all my heart, but I can't be with her anymore; it's going to tear me apart."

"I see. And what about custody of your daughter… Grace, isn't it? Are you going to try and get custody, or are you happy for Miss Marcello to keep her?"

"Uh, it's Miss Miller now, and I'm perfectly happy for Gracie to stay with her, so long as I reach a sensible agreement for when I can see her."

"Miss Miller? But according to the marriage certificate, you married Carmella Anita Marcello…"

"That's one of the reasons we're getting a divorce," muttered Phil.

Steffi was also talking to her lawyer about the divorce.

"So you're happy for Mr Gregory to see Grace if and when he wants to?"

"Not exactly. He's welcome to come and see her, but he can't just drop by and expect us to be there – I've got a job and a life outside of his wants and petty demands. That goes for my new baby too." She started to file her nails, and her lawyer looked her up and down, impressed. Steffi looked up at him, and smiled when he turned away hastily.

"Congratulations. And are you staying here in New York when the divorce is over?"

"Of course not! I'm twenty-five! I've managed to find myself a job back in San Francisco, and I have relatives in Chicago and Europe, so if San Francisco doesn't go to plan then I have back ups."

"You've lived in San Francisco before?"

"There are very few places I haven't lived, honey." She blew a speck of dust off her nail and resumed filing. "New Orleans, London, Paris, Berlin, Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Los Angeles… you name it I've probably spent time there. My brothers moved around a lot, and my parents skipped out on us when we were little. It was just our way of moving on."

"When do you plan on leaving New York? Because I'd like to take you to dinner to uh, discuss some of the finer points of the settlement." Steffi smiled at him again, and he felt his hands start to tremble.

"Well, seeing as you asked so nicely Mr Kline," she said as she passed a card across the table. "Ring that number, and we can arrange a date, time and place."

When Steffi got back to the apartment, Phil was there already with Grace. She smiled at them both before going to the kitchen to make some coffee.

"You want anything from the kitchen honey?" Phil swallowed hard, knowing that soon he wouldn't hear her call him like that again.

"I'd love a cup of coffee or something, if that's alright with you."

"I wouldn't ask if you weren't going to receive," she replied. "Grace honey, fade in here with Mommy so you can pick what you want to go with your dinner." With that, the beautiful blonde child in Phil's arms disappeared, and could be heard making decisions for what she was going to have. He sighed, and moved some of his daughter's toys off of the coffee table in front of him. When he looked up again, Steffi was stood in front of him with a mug of hot coffee.

"You look troubled honey," she said softly, setting the coffee down in front of him and curling up next to him on the sofa. "What's on your mind?"

"That… you calling me 'honey', even though I'm paying someone to get you away from me. Hell, I'm even paying you to get Grace away from me."

"Oh, Phil," Steffi said, and she put a hand on his thigh. "You know as well as I do that's not how it is! I kept too much from you, and I couldn't expect you to understand any of it just like that. I shouldn't have expected you to, but I did, and I'm sorry for that." There was silence as Phil digested what she'd just said.

"If I said that I still loved you, and that I don't want a divorce, would it change anything?"

"That's a good question," Steffi said thoughtfully. "For me, it makes a lot of difference, but it also makes me wonder if it's you trying to understand me or you trying to get back in bed with me. But for what it's worth, I do still love you, and if we could take this damn divorce off the table then I would. I don't want Grace to grow up without a permanent father figure; I want pictures of you and her playing, and one of you and I at her graduation smiling and looking as in love as we do in our wedding pictures."

"You didn't love me at our wedding though."

"I loved you, and still do love you, more than you know."

"Mommee! Mommee!" A cry came from the kitchen. "S'getty! S'getty!"

"Are you gonna say that properly, sweetheart?" Steffi said as she got off the couch. "I don't know what 's'getty' is."

"Spaghetti," Grace said after a moment's struggle with the syllables. "Can I please have spaghetti?" Steffi looked down at her daughter adoringly and picked her up.

"Of course you may, darling! Would you like spaghetti hoops, or pasta, or long thin spaghetti?"

"Hoops, please!" Steffi kissed her daughter on the forehead, and set her back down on the ground.

"Hoops it is, then. Go and ask Daddy if he has time to eat before going to work." Grace ran off and Steffi pulled a can of spaghetti hoops out of the cupboard, tipping them into a saucepan and putting them on the hob. She looked at the saucepan for a moment, and thought how ironic it all was. Here she was, supposedly in the middle of a bitter divorce, cooking spaghetti hoops for her four year old daughter whilst she asked her father if he had time to eat before work. Grace came running back in with a big smile on her face.

"Daddy said he can stay for hoops! It's gonna be Mommy, Daddy, Gracie and hoops!" Steffi laughed.

"Okay, okay, enough with the hoops, munchkin! Don't forget you've got Mommy's special sausage and mash hedgehogs too! Go and set the table for me please hon." As Grace sped off again, Phil came into the kitchen.

"Don't run in the house, Grace! Look, Cam, what you said just now; did you mean it?"

"Of course I did! I love you so much, and this divorce is tearing me apart, but it's what you want so I have to accept that. And you know if I leave you now, it doesn't mean that I love you any less."

"Well, if you meant what you said then maybe a divorce isn't necessary. I still love you, whether I want to or not, and this idea of breaking up is killing me."

"S-so what do we do?" Steffi began to stir the hoops frantically, scared of his answer. Phil put a hand on her arm, stopping her, and smiled.

"I'm going to ring my lawyer first thing tomorrow and tell him that I'm no longer divorcing you. What are you going to tell yours?"

"That I'm not going to be available for that date he asked me out on; I'll be at home with my husband and two children."

"Two? Have you got double vision or something?" Steffi shook her head and moved his hand down to her stomach, grinning.

"I'm pregnant again… I found out earlier!"

_A/N and Disclaimer: The only characters I own the rights to are Steffi, Phil and Grace._

_Aww so they go from divorce to marital bliss and another child. Thank God these people aren't real; they would need some serious help._


	19. At Home With The Gregorys

Chapter 19 – At Home With The Gregorys.

"Carmella, you little beauty!" Phil picked her up and swung her around, as Steffi giggled amidst her protests that their kitchen was too small to do that.

"Put me down you fool! And call me Steffi, please." She shrieked happily, and let Phil wrap his arms around her and kiss her more passionately then she could ever remember him kissing her before.

"Mommee! The hoops are burning!" Grace said as she rushed into the kitchen again. Steffi jumped and pulled reluctantly away from Phil to turn down the heat on the dinner. She smiled as she felt him nuzzle her neck gently and whisper quietly in her ear.

"I love you, baby."

"I love you more. Now then, who's up for hoops, mashed potato and sausages?" Grace jumped up and down excitedly, and Steffi ushered her over to the table with a smile. There was a pop as Phil uncorked a bottle of wine, and he poured two glasses out before bringing them to the table. Steffi made sure Grace was sat down nicely, and went out for the dinner. When she came back through, Grace was no longer sat at the table, but was running around the living room whilst Phil stared at her quizzically.

"She faded… why did she fade?" Steffi shrugged and put the plates down on the table, kissing her husband on the forehead.

"I'm sure I don't know, but I do know that if she doesn't sit down by the time I've counted to three she won't have anything to eat tonight. One." Grace stared at her mother challengingly.

"Two." Steffi leant against the table and kept eye contact with her daughter.

"Three." At the last possible second, Grace faded into her seat, and Steffi sat down. Phil raised his glass to propose a toast.

"To new beginnings."

"New beginnings!" Steffi said with a smile, and touched her glass with his. Under the table, she rubbed his leg gently with her foot, and they smiled at each other.

About half way through dessert, Steffi found herself staring at the clock. She realised slowly that it was quarter to seven, and she gasped.

"Phil, you're going to be late! You've only got fifteen minutes till your shift starts…" She drained her glass and began to stack up the ice cream bowls. Phil stood up regretfully and went to get his things from the bedroom as Steffi took out the dirty plates. When he went to the front door to put his boots on, Steffi stood in front of him with her arms folded tightly across her chest to keep out the December cold. When he looked up at her, there were tears in her eyes.

"Hey, sweetie! What's wrong?"

"Maybe I don't want you to go risk your life again… I want you to stay here with me."

"Honey, much as I would love to do that, you and I both know that I've got to. And I'll be back before you wake up in the morning."

"Not good enough," she said quietly. "I want you there when I go to sleep too." Phil sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"I can't take a sicky – I'd feel bad!"

"Isn't that the point of a sicky; you feel ill so you don't go in?"

"Baby…" he said as he took her face in his gloved hands, "I promise you that one day I won't have to do all these awkward shifts. But for now I've got to, especially now we've got a number two to think of." He kissed her again, and she pulled his arms around her as she nestled into his big coat and warm jacket.

"I still don't want you to go… stay here with me tonight. I'll make it worth your while…"

"Oh yeah? Well, tempting as that sounds, I really can't." He smiled slightly as she stood on his toes, reached up and kissed him softly.

"Take care of yourself… I love you." She pulled his coat together and buttoned it up for him as he stroked her cheek. "Have you got your thick socks on? And your vest? And make sure you put the heating on in the car. And drive safe if you do go out tonight. And don't forget to use the anti-freeze on the windscreen. And…"

"And you sound like my mother!" Phil laughed. "I will be careful, I promise. In fact, I shall walk down to the precinct just so you know I'm okay." She pulled a scarf off of a hook on the door and wrapped it round his neck, and straightened his coat.

"When Grace falls asleep, I'll tell Jane next door that I'm coming down to see you and bring you some coffee. I know the stuff down at the precinct tastes like boiled mud."

"Why did I ever want to divorce you?" Phil said with a grin. "Okay, so what time will you come down? I want to be there to see you."

"About nine. I'm putting Grace down now, but you know what she can be like at night when you've been home with her." She opened the door and tried to smile as he walked out the door. When he'd gone out the door, she called down the corridor to him.

"I love you!"

"I love you too, darling."

_A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed is the creation of Brad Kern and Aaron Spelling, not moi._

_This was just like my way of showing that even alcoholic, nicotine-dependant screw-ups can do domestic bliss. Hope you liked it!_


	20. You're Beautiful

Chapter 20 – You're Beautiful.

As Steffi stepped into the precinct, she had the feeling she'd made a huge mistake. Phil was nowhere to be seen, and all around her were his lecherous male colleagues. She shuddered slightly, and went up to the desk.

"Nadia, hey. Is Phil in?" The receptionist looked at her for a moment then opened her book.

"He's out on a shout. Should be back any minute now. Why?"

"Oh, he just wanted something from home, so I brought it along. Is there anywhere I can leave it? I've left Grace with a neighbour you see."

"Take it through to his desk, its fine. He'll be back before you know it." Nadia pressed a buzzer and Steffi went through the heavy door into the cubicles.

The men appeared not to take notice of her at first, and Steffi let go of a breath she had not realised she was holding. She began to scurry across to the cubicle belonging to her husband, and stopped abruptly when a man called to her.

"Oi, Cam! Get 'em out for us!" Steffi felt her face flush a deep red, and tried to carry on through their laughter and jeers. She stole a sideways glance at the man; it was Lieutenant Conroy. Ever since she'd first started dating Phil, Conroy had wanted her all to himself. At first, he'd tried subtly hinting, telling her that there was a bottle of wine with her name on it somewhere, and that he owned it. When she had rejected his advances, he started trying a different approach. Whenever he saw her, he would shout a lewd or abusive comment to try and impress the other men. They were all so scared of Conroy that they laughed along with him, with a slight unease when they saw her pained expression.

"Get what out, Lieutenant? I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"Of course you do; get your boobs out! Bet they're as gorgeous as you are… you're purtyer than a 'little ole red wagon climbing up a hill' sunset." She folded her arms over her chest protectively, putting on a brave face against the laughter.

"Why would I want to do that? I'm not just some sex object you know, I'm a woman. In fact, I'm the wife of one of your colleagues, and I'm sure you've all heard him talking about our four-year-old daughter, Grace."

"Not as much as he talks about your sex life; or should I say lack thereof." Conroy grinned when he saw Steffi's spine snap straight. She turned around slowly, a dangerous glint in her eye. All the other men saw it, but Conroy didn't.

"So you want to know about our sex life, hmm? Tell you what; why don't I show you?"

"There's nothing I'd like better!" She beckoned him to follow her, and started walking towards a supply closet. He followed eagerly, winking at some of the other men.

Once they were inside, the men could hear a series of bangs and Conroy groaning. Then, there was a startled 'Hey!' and Steffi stepped out. Shutting the door carefully behind her, she put a hand up to her hair and tried to smooth down her clothes with the other.

"You may or may not want to get him out of there," she said sweetly, and sat at Phil's desk awaiting his return. "He could be in one bad mood." One of the younger men got up bravely, and went into the closet. There was the sound of laughter, and then a menacing growl. When the boy came out, he flung the door open wide, and everyone in the room cracked up. There, in the closet, was Conroy, naked except for his boxers, and tied to a chair by a pair of handcuffs. He was growling menacingly, and he glared at Steffi as she watched the men falling about. When she eventually looked at him, she blew him a kiss and smiled sweetly at him as he gnashed his teeth like an animal. She got up languidly, and went over to him. Touching his cheek gently, she bent down low to his ear and whispered,

"Was that what you wanted to see?" Then, she gave him a resounding kiss on the cheek leaving the mark of her lipstick imprinted upon it. All the lads cheered, and she gave a little mock bow. "It's what I'm here for, boys."

When Phil eventually got back, he saw ten captivated men sat around Steffi, like children at story-time, listening to her tales of her younger years, when she'd been an infamous party animal. With one leg crossed over the other, tucking her hair behind her ear and telling her story to the guys, Phil knew. She really was the One. She felt his eyes on her and looked at him for a moment, and he mouthed 'I love you'. She smiled cutely, and resumed her story telling. It was only when he went to get a file out of the cabinet in the closet that he saw his disgraced Lieutenant, and he laughed.

"Carmella, you little beauty."

_A/N and Disclaimer: Charmed has nothing to do with me at all._

_This was just a little fun chapter for me, because Steffi is getting way too grown up now she's a mother. Like Cyndi Lauper said, 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun'._


	21. A Secret Never To Be Told

Chapter 21 – A Secret Never To Be Told.

A few weeks later, Steffi was alone, pottering around her kitchen humming her daughter's nursery rhyme to herself.

"One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold…"

"…Seven for a secret never to be told," finished a male voice from behind her. Steffi jumped slightly.

"Phil, don't creep up on me like that!" She turned round to continue her lecture, and took a step back in shock. It was not Phil. It was, in fact, Cole. An unshaven, dishevelled Cole, who smelt as if he'd been on a major bender. Her assumption was correct.

"Not quite who you were expecting?" Cole said, or rather slurred, and he swayed on the spot slightly.

"Mmm. Come and sit down." She guided him over to the kitchen table, and sat him down. "Jesus Cole, you stink! What have you been doing?" She made him a quick sandwich with some cold beef, and gave it to him.

"I've been out drinking with some people… and then they left so I carried on drinking. Whassis?" He took a cautious bite and found it was edible.

"You speak worse than my four year old, you look like a tramp, and you smell like the inside of an ass. It's a sandwich, to help soak up the alcohol. I don't reckon you've had anything to eat recently, have you?"

"Fankoop for your compiliments. And yesh, I have. I had a kebab about… two days ago."

"Jesus!" Steffi was clearly shocked at the appearance of her old flame, and began to spritz him with some perfume she conjured.

"Whazzat? It stinks!"

"It's Oscar de la Renta, and it's bloody expensive, so shut up and get spritzed." Cole sat in silence as Steffi quickly coated him in the perfume. Once she was done, she began to make him another sandwich.

"What's in this?" Cole asked eventually.

"Well at least you're starting to sound human even if you neither smell or look like one… its beef. I did a roast dinner yesterday, and we had some left over. I sent Grace and Phil off with beef sandwiches; I hope they like them you know."

"Oh, so you're still with that pansy?"

"He is not a pansy! He's sweet, gentle, caring, and a better man than you'll ever be!" Cole looked hurt.

"Sorry. Why aren't you at work then?"

"Tom's away for a while, so I don't have to go in. There's an automatic answering machine. Why aren't you at work?" Cole shrugged.

"It's boring. Not enjoyable at all."

"You don't have to enjoy work to do it." Steffi grabbed a piece of kitchen paper and ran it under the tap a moment, before starting to clean the grime from his face. Cole pulled a face as she worked the grime out of his premature wrinkles, and relaxed when she was finally done.

"So why do you do it?"

"Because we feel bound by some duty or another. Or because we made a promise to someone a long time ago, and it doesn't matter what's happened in between, because you've got to stick to your word. Time after time."

"I get the feeling we aren't talking about work anymore."

"Mmm." Steffi conjured a comb and began to gently tease the matted mass of Cole's hair back into its normal groomed state. Cole closed his eyes and let her do as she pleased, and let his mind wander back to when this wouldn't have been in such formal conditions; when they would stumble in after a night's drunken revelling and worry about tomorrow when it came. Now Steffi was so changed… she was a mother, a wife, a sister, and Cole wanted to say a lover. His lover. But it was not the case.

"Steffi… you once told me that love always goes by the book; that you make your own destiny."

"Oh honey, I wrote that book."

"So it doesn't mean anything?"

"Of course it does… but I'm different now. You're different now."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, not so long ago, things would've been reversed, wouldn't they? I mean, I would be the one sat there trying to sober up, and you would be the one talking about children and responsibility. It just goes to show that I was wrong when I wrote that book. Sure, you make your own destiny; but you have to see it through. I can't see mine through."

"I thought you had. You've got a beautiful daughter, another child on the way, a loving husband, and I still have feelings for you. And I think that you still have them for me."

"Cole, I really have tried to forget that… you should too. You can't hang onto our past like this."

"I always will… which is why I think I came. I want you to come back to San Francisco with me. I want us to start again."

_A/N and Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed or any of the characters._

_Well, I know you're simply dying to know what happens next. But I'm going to let you decide what happens to Steffi, Cole, Phil and Grace, because this my friends is the end of my story. Thank you for reading, and I'll be back soon! If you would like to suggest a better ending for this story, suggestions and criticisms are always welcome._


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